AUSTRALIA
Authorities shut Bondi Beach
Authorities yesterday closed Sydney’s Bondi Beach after huge crowds flocked to the popular sunbathing spot, despite a government ban on large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary measure came after photographs of mostly young beachgoers packed on the famous sands were widely shared online, drawing howls of protest in the media and from officials. “What we saw this morning here on Bondi Beach was the most irresponsible behavior of individuals that we’ve seen so far,” New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said. “This is not something we are doing because we are the ‘fun police,’” he told a beachside news conference. The ban could be extended to other beaches if social distancing rules are not followed, he added.
BONAIRE
RdK seizes PDVSA facility
State-owned oil refiner Refineria di Korsou (RdK) on Friday seized an oil storage terminal on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire over a payment dispute with Venezuela’s state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), an RdK official said. The government would seek Dutch court approvals to sell Bonaire Petroleum Corp (BOPEC), which is owned by PDVSA, and its 10-million barrel storage terminal if no payments are received, RdK managing director Marcelino de Lannoy said. In the video statement addressed to BOPEC workers, De Lannoy said that RdK would take their interests into account “as long as this is possible.” “RdK hopes that with this PDVSA will comply with its duties,” De Lannoy said. “If this is not the case, there is no alternative left for RdK to use its right to sell the installations in a public auction.” Last year, RdK ended PDVSA’s contract to operate its 335,000 barrel per day Isla refinery on Curacao.
GREECE
Police seize weapons cache
Police on Friday said that they have seized grenade launchers and other weapons in raids against suspected members of a far-left Turkish armed group. The raids were carried out at two properties in Athens on Thursday against alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, a group that is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU. Eleven people were arrested in the operation that involved the counterterrorism division of the police and the National Intelligence Service, authorities said. They were on Friday charged with terrorism-linked offenses. Their lawyers said that the suspects denied the charges. The weapons seized include two anti-tank missile launchers, two grenade launchers, four handguns and an automatic rifle.
UNITED STATES
Kenny Rogers dies aged 81
Country music legend Kenny Rogers, whose career spanned six decades, has died at the age of 81, his family said late on Friday. “Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family,” his family said in a statement, adding that they were planning a small private service “out of concern for the national COVID-19 emergency.” A three-time Grammy winner, Rogers was known for a string of hits including The Gambler, Lucille and Islands in the Stream. He had 24 No. 1 hits, was a six-time Country Music Awards winner and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Rogers also came to prominence through his collaboration with Dolly Parton and appearances on films and TV programs, including The Muppet Show.
DOUBLE-MURDER CASE: The officer told the dispatcher he would check the locations of the callers, but instead headed to a pizzeria, remaining there for about an hour A New Jersey officer has been charged with misconduct after prosecutors said he did not quickly respond to and properly investigate reports of a shooting that turned out to be a double murder, instead allegedly stopping at an ATM and pizzeria. Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bollaro was the on-duty officer on the evening of Aug. 1, when police received 911 calls reporting gunshots and screaming in Pittstown, about 96km from Manhattan in central New Jersey, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robeson’s office said. However, rather than responding immediately, prosecutors said GPS data and surveillance video showed Bollaro drove about 3km
Tens of thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people and to denounce the handling of the disaster. Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional government head Carlos Mazon to resign over what they said was the slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades. “People are still really angry,” said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old government worker who took part with her husband and two young daughters. “Why weren’t people evacuated? Its incomprehensible,” she said. Mazon’s
‘MOTHER’ OF THAILAND: In her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, former Thai queen Sirikit mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley The year-long funeral ceremony of former Thai queen Sirikit started yesterday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her body to lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. Members of the royal family are venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures, and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide. Sirikit, the mother of Thai King Vajiralongkorn and widow of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on Friday at the age of 93. Black-and-white tributes to the royal matriarch are being beamed onto towering digital advertizing billboards, on
POWER ABUSE WORRY: Some people warned that the broad language of the treaty could lead to overreach by authorities and enable the repression of government critics Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi yesterday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to bolster international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries signed the declaration, which means it would go into force once ratified by those states. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the signing as an “important milestone,” and that it was “only the beginning.” “Every day, sophisticated scams destroy families, steal migrants and drain billions of dollars from our economy...
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