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.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
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