UNITED STATES
Scientists say virus airborne
Hundreds of scientists say there is evidence that the novel coronavirus in smaller particles in the air can infect people and are calling for the WHO to revise recommendations, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The WHO has said that the coronavirus disease spreads primarily from person to person through droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes or speaks. In an open letter to the agency, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence showing that much smaller particles, which could glide the length of a room, can infect people, the Times said. However, the WHO said that the evidence for the virus being airborne was not convincing, the newspaper reported.
UNITED STATES
Abolitionist’s statue wrecked
A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the 168th anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” in which he called the celebration of liberty a sham. Police said that the statue of Douglass was on Sunday taken from Maplewood Park, a site along the Underground Railroad where Douglas and Harriet Tubman helped shuttle slaves to freedom. It was found at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 15m from its pedestal, police said.
ARGENTINA
Debt talks extended
The country was yesterday to present a new offer to restructure its debt and has extended its deadline for creditors to agree until Aug. 4, the Ministry of Economy announced on Sunday. President Alberto Fernandez’s administration “will extend the expiration of the invitation [offer] until 5pm in New York City” on that day, the ministry said in a statement. The date for concluding negotiations with bondholders was moved from July 24 in an effort to reach an agreement to restructure US$66 billion in bonds issued under foreign law. The ministry said that it would also send the US Congress a bill to restructure local debt in dollars “on equitable terms.”
UNITED STATES
Virus kills Broadway actor
Broadway and TV actor Nick Cordero, who spent months in intensive care being treated for COVID-19 and lost his leg from complications, died on Sunday in Los Angeles, his wife said. He was 41 years old. “My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this Earth,” Amanda Kloots wrote on Instagram. Kloots had documented her husband’s struggle with the virus on social media. She said he had battled the disease for 95 days. Cordero had been comatose for months, but regained consciousness in early May, able to move and communicate through only his eyes. He had been awaiting a double lung transplant when he died.
UNITED STATES
Tree collapses, injuring 19
A large tree toppled onto a detached garage in a Maryland neighborhood where people attending a child’s birthday party sought shelter from a storm, sending 19 people to hospitals on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman Russ Davies said that one person was critically injured and five others were in a serious condition, but none of their conditions was life-threatening. Among the 17 adults and two children in the garage at the time, the rest had minor injuries, he added.
UNITED KINGDOM
Elton John gets own coin
Elton John, 73, yesterday became the second artist to be honored by the Royal Mint with a commemorative coin paying tribute to the singer-songwriter. The coin, designed by artist Bradley Morgan Johnson, depicts John’s distinctive straw boater’s hat, and fashions his trademark glasses out of a pair of musical notes. “It really is a fabulous honor to be recognized in this way,” John said. “The last few years have contained some of the most memorable moments of my career, and this is another truly humbling milestone on my journey.” John, who was knighted in 1998, is the second artist to be commemorated under the Royal Mint’s Music Legends series after rock band Queen.
FRANCE
Louvre museum reopens
The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, yesterday reopened after its COVID-19 closure, but with nearly a third of its galleries still shut. The former palace of French kings has lost more than 40 million euros (US$45 million) in ticket sales during the near-four-month lockdown, and museum director Jean-Luc Martinez said it could have a few more lean years ahead as the world adapts to the coronavirus. Although most of the museum’s most popular draws, like the Mona Lisa and its vast antiquities collection, will be accessible, other galleries where social distancing is more difficult will remain closed. Nor will there be any crowding in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece for a selfie, with visitors warned that they will have to stick to standing on well-distanced spots marked on the floor.
INDIA
Dalai Lama launches album
The Dalai Lama made a bid for music chart stardom yesterday, his 85th birthday, with the release of an album of mantras and teachings. Inner World starts with the track One Of My Favorite Prayers, and continues with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader reciting meditations and sayings with accompanying music. The record came about when musician Junelle Kunin, a student of the Dalai Lama from New Zealand, contacted him in 2015 with the idea — and much to her surprise he said yes. Kunin did the initial recordings at the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamsala in India. Once back home, she worked with her husband, Abraham, and other musicians to produce music for the tracks. “It’s an incredible honor, but it was unbelievably daunting, like the trust and responsibility. It’s immense,” Abraham Kunin said. On a promotional video for the album, when asked why he had agreed to take part, the Dalai Lama said: “The very purpose of my life is to serve as much as I can.”
SOUTH KOREA
Court rejects US extradition
The Seoul High Court yesterday refused an extradition request by US law enforcement authorities for a man convicted of running a dark Web child pornography site based in the nation that sold videos for digital cash around the world. Son Jong-woo, the site’s operator, completed an 18-month sentence for breaching domestic child protection and information laws in April, but has remained in custody after he was also indicted on US federal charges in Washington. The court said in its ruling that it had refused the extradition request because sending him to the US could hamper local investigations into sexually exploitive content, Yonhap news agency reported. The court said the ruling should not be interpreted as exonerating Son, and that he should actively cooperate with investigators and face proper punishment, Yonhap said.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
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