Friday,  June 26th, 2020

The government and the Taliban agree to start intra-Afghan talks by mid-July after the issue of releasing the “most dangerous” Taliban prisoners has been solved, according to a government spokesman. The group did not comment on the announcement. (Al Arabiya)

British-Dutch consumer company Unilever, owner of such brands as Lipton tea and Dove soap, announces that they will suspend advertising on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter for the rest of the year, saying that they have not been doing enough to counter “divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S.” (Reuters)

A University of Barcelona-led investigation uncovers traces of SARS-CoV-2 in frozen Barcelona sewage samples drawn on 12 March 2019, more than half a year before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in China.  (Reuters)

Six people are injured in a mass stabbing in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The attacker was shot dead by police. (BBC)

A court in Turkey sentences 121 people to life in prison for their role in the 2016 attempted coup. Eighty-six were sentenced to “aggravated” life imprisonment for “attempting to violate the constitution”. (Al Arabiya)

A court in the United Kingdom sentences an 18-year-old man to 15 years in prison for attempted murder for throwing a six-year-old French boy off the roof of the Tate Modern art gallery in London last December. He was 17 at the time of the crime, and said he “wanted to be on the television news”. The boy survived but suffered life-changing injuries. (Reuters)

The Chief of Police of Mexico City, Omar García Harfuch, is injured but “out of danger” in an assassination attempt upon him. Two of his bodyguards and a passerby were killed. García Harfuch blamed the attack on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). (Reuters)

A Danish court sentences a Norwegian-Iranian man to seven years in prison for spying on behalf of Iranian intelligence and for conspiring to assassinate the leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz. He will be expelled permanently from the country upon the end of his sentence. (Reuters)

Employees at Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, working in multiple U.S. locations are being sent home for refusing to take off Black Lives Matter face masks. Workers are protesting these actions.  (Fox News)

The United States House of Representatives passes a bill that would make Washington, D.C. a U.S. state, with the exception of important government buildings. This legislation is unlikely to pass in the Republican-held United States Senate. (CNBC)

Coronavirus cases spike to new high for second consecutive day  Thursday’s number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. surged to 40,000, the second consecutive day in which there was a new record high in new cases. The previous high was approximately 36,000 new cases on April 24. Cases are especially spiking in Southern and Western states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona. Additionally, Alabama, Alaska, Montana and Utah reported their highest-ever daily totals on Thursday. While case rates slowly decreased across the country in May, there has been a new resurgence as stay-at-home and social distancing orders have been relaxed. The White House coronavirus task force is meeting on Friday, for the first time since April, to address the new spike. Source: The New York Times

House Democrats pass bill to grant D.C. statehood  The House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that would grant Washington, D.C. statehood. The bill, which will almost certainly die upon reaching the Republican-led Senate, was passed 232-180 on nearly exact party lines. Though Democrats say making D.C. a state would give much-needed representation to a district with more than 700,000 residents, Republicans say the bill could be a Democratic power-grab, since three-quarters of D.C. voters are registered Democrats. The bill would make much of D.C. its own state, but leave federal property like the White House and Capitol Hill under congressional jurisdiction. A similar bill was debated more than 25 years ago. Source: The New York Times

Texas, Florida roll back some business reopenings amid coronavirus spikes  On Friday, Texas became the first state to reimpose a lockdown as it faces what Gov. Greg Abbott described as a “massive outbreak” of COVID-19 cases following its attempted reopening. Abbott’s executive order will close bars that had previously been allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity, beginning at noon on Friday (bars may remain open for delivery and takeout). Restaurants are also being scaled back from being allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity for dine-in service to 50 percent capacity, and gatherings of more than 100 people are once again banned. In Florida, where a record 8,942 new coronavirus cases were reported Friday, on-site alcohol consumption at bars is now suspended. Source: The Week

Intel report: Russia offered militants bounties to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan  American intelligence officials have informed President Trump that they believe Russia’s military intelligence agency has secretly been offering bounties to Taliban or Taliban-linked militants for the killing of American troops in Afghanistan, according to an explosive Friday report in The New York Times. Trump was reportedly first briefed on the findings in late March, although he has not yet acted in response. Islamist militants are reportedly believed to have collected bounty money from Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, although it’s not clear which American deaths, or how many, are suspected to be linked. The involvement would be “a huge escalation of Russia’s so-called hybrid war” against the U.S., writes the Times, and would also be “the first time the Russian spy unit was known to have orchestrated attacks on Western troops.” Source: The New York Times

American Airlines to restart booking flights to full capacity  Beginning next week, American Airlines will resume fully booking flights after having reserved half its middle seats in economy since April to better enforce social distancing. “As more people continue to travel, customers may notice that flights are booked to capacity starting July 1,” the airline said in a Friday statement. “American will continue to notify customers and allow them to move to more open flights when available, all without incurring any cost.” The move comes after the United States experienced back-to-back record-high caseloads of coronavirus this week. American Airlines will join United and Spirit, which are already booking flights to capacity. Southwest, Delta, and JetBlue, meanwhile, are still restricting the number of seats for sale, and Southwest committed to do so through at least Sept. 30.  Source: USA Today

 

 

Thursday, June 25th, 2020

Iraqi security forces raid the headquarters of the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah, detaining three high-ranking commanders of the group, and at least 20 other fighters. (Reuters)

At least 100 people are killed by lightning strikes as a monsoon storm batters India’s northeastern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. (Reuters)

Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say the number of cases reached 6,411 there with 198 new infections in the past 24 hours. (Anadolu Agency)

In the Central African Republic, the number of infections climbs by 88 in the past 24 hours to reach 3,051. (Anadolu Agency)

The U.S. reports 37,077 cases, the largest number of new cases in a single day. (CNN)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo announces the end of the second outbreak of Ebola in the country, which has killed more than 2,200 people. (Reuters)

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the far-right Danish political party Hard Line, is sentenced to prison for one month for a string of offences, including hate speech, defamation and dangerous driving. (BBC)

After having been postponed once due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting about potential amendments to the Constitution of Russia kicks off. The result of the referendum might, amongst other changes, prolong the mandate of President Vladimir Putin. Voting continues until the 1st of July. (DW)

The Leader of the UK’s Labour Party, Keir Starmer, sacks his Shadow Secretary of State for Education Rebecca Long-Bailey for sharing an article on social media that says American police were trained by Mossad to use the knee-on-neck restraint that killed George Floyd, which Israeli police say is false. (BBC)

The End