Joe Biden's presidential campaign is bringing on the granddaughter of civil rights leader Csar Chvez as a senior adviser to help with Latino outreach and building out its operation in the states.
Some Latino leaders have criticized the Biden campaign, saying it's not doing enough to reach out to the key demographic group.  Chavez Rodriguez previously worked as co-national political director on California Sen. Kamala Harris's presidential campaign and was her California state director before that. She also served in the Obama administration, overseeing the White House's engagement with LGBT, Latino, veteran, youth, education, labor and progressive leaders.  She's joining Cristbal Alex, a former president of the Latino Victory Fund, who serves as Biden's senior adviser for issues involving Hispanic voters.
Biden is viewed with skepticism by some Latinos for his ties to deportation policies during the Obama administration. He struggled with Latino outreach throughout the Democratic ...

Biden hires former Harris aide to help with Latino outreach

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Sony Corporation plans to make its financial services unit a wholly owned subsidiary to ensure stability as it rides out the hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will be able to carry out more flexible management," Kenichiro Yoshida, chief executive of the Japanese entertainment and electronics company, told reporters in a livestream news conference Tuesday.
Tokyo-based Sony is making a tender offer for the shares of Sony Financial Holdings Inc, of which it now owns about 65%.
Sony said the company name will become Sony Group Corp., upon shareholders' approval later this year, effective April 1, 2021. Its electronics segment will take on the Sony Corporation name, it said.
Sony technology is likely to prove useful in future financial services, such as the fintech area, it said, providing "synergies". It will also enhance profitability, it said.
That term, used by Sony for years, refers to how various parts of its sprawling operations can work together for overall ...

Sony to buy full control of financial unit to weather crisis

Billionaire Saudi businessman Saleh Abdullah Kamel, who founded the banking and real estate conglomerate Dallah Albaraka Group, has died, according to relatives quoted in the kingdom's media. He was 79.
People close to Kamel told The Associated Press he died at the Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital in the city of Jiddah, where he was taken after suffering a heart attack early on Tuesday.
Kamel's business empire grew from its humble beginnings in the late 1960's  at the same time that the kingdom was using its oil wealth to rapidly develop and in need of homegrown companies to build roads, highways and cities.
Over the years, the business expanded to tens of thousands of employees and today includes subsidiaries and stakes in a range of businesses, such as the operation and maintenance of airports and roads, tourism, trade, trucking and transportation, telecommunications, media, agriculture, poultry and health care.
Kamel's son and the CEO of Dallah Albaraka Group, Abdullah Kamel, was quoted in 

Billionaire Saudi banking tycoon dead at 79, family says

A special anti-corruption court in Iran has sentenced a couple to death on money laundering and other charges, the judiciary said Tuesday.
The couple  Najva Lasheidaei and her husband Vahid Behzadi  are said to have smuggled hard currency and laundered $200 million, said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.
Authorities also confiscated nearly 300 kilograms of gold from the couple and said they had bought 6,700 cars from Saipa, one of top two automakers of the country.
In connection to the Saipa part of the charges, the court separately sentenced lawmakers Fereidoun Ahmadi and Mohammad Azizi to five years in prison each, as well as Mehdi Jamali, a former CEO of Saipa, to seven years in prison.
Both lawmakers represent the city of Zanjan, about 300 kilometers (187 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran.
Under Iranian law, the couple can appeal the verdicts within 20 days. Their lawyers were not reachable for comment.
Iran is struggling to battle corruption, including among its ...

Iran sentences couple to death over money laundering

Cristiano Ronaldo has reported back to Juventus' training center after a 10-week absence.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner showed up for medical tests with the Serie A leaders.
Ronaldo observed a two-week isolation period at his home in Turin after spending the lockdown period in his native Portugal.
Ronaldo has not been alongside his teammates since helping Juventus to a 2-0 win over Inter Milan on March 8. He flew to his home island of Madeira, Portugal, after that.
Serie A was suspended a day later when the Italian government ordered a nationwide lockdown. The league is hoping to resume playing on June 13.

Ronaldo reports back for Juventus practice

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega blamed new coronavirus-related health monitoring measures taken by neighboring Costa Rica for his country's decision Monday to close their two border crossings.
In a nationally televised address, Ortega said more than 1,000 trucks were stranded on Nicaraguan highways. The dispute boiled over after Costa Rica on May 8 began testing all truck drivers entering the country for COVID-19.
Costa Rica said 61 truckers had so far tested positive, most trying to enter from Nicaragua though some were also entering from Panama.
The truckers are tested at the border before being allowed to continue. Those who test positive are forced to turn around. Those showing symptoms are rejected without a test.
It isn't Nicaragua that has closed the border, Ortega said. It is Costa Rica (that has) with measures it began to take, to demand, to establish. He called the testing a pretext used by Costa Rican authorities.
At Costa Rica's southern border with Panama, truckers ...

Nicaragua closes Costa Rica border to protest virus testing

The Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach.
But the pandemic silenced the exuberant Napa Strip district as the island nation of Cyprus went into a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
Now nightclub owners wonder when social distancing rules will be eased enough for the party to resume - and what those new parties will look like.
We know at nightclubs, young people will go to dance and have a good time. But then you have to tell them that they have to keep 2 metres (6 feet) apart from each other? asked Charalambos Alexandrou, the spokesman for a group representing local clubs, bars and restaurants.
Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travellers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat.
Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of ...

Beaches, nightclubs? Europe mulls how to get tourists back

Unemployment claims in Britain jumped 69 per cent  in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and hit the labor market, UK authorities said Tuesday.
The Office of National Statistics says jobless claims surged by 856,000 to 2.1 million in April as compared to the month before. The figures covered only the first weeks of the lockdown, said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS.
In March, employment held up well, as furloughed workers still count as employed, but hours worked fell sharply in late March, especially in sectors such as hospitality and construction,'' he said.  Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told the BBC that the government was focused on those claiming benefits under Universal Credit, a welfare payment for those who need help, including the unemployed.
I think so far the employment stats really are indicative to the end of March and we won't have a more detailed understanding for about another month,'' she said. So at 

UK unemployment claims surge 69% as pandemic takes hold

Australia's trade minister said Tuesday that his country does not want a trade war with China, but maintained Beijing had erred by imposing stiff tariffs on Australian barley in what is widely seen as punishment for advocating an investigation into the coronavirus pandemic.
China effectively ended imports of Australian barley by putting tariffs of more than 80% on the crop, accusing Australia of breaching World Trade Organization rules by subsidizing barley production and selling the crop in China at below production costs. The move came a week after China banned beef imports from Australia's four largest abattoirs over labeling issues.
Australia is not interested in a trade war. We don't pursue our trade policies on a tit-for-tat basis, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told reporters. We operate according to the trade rules that we strongly support.
Birmingham said China has made errors of both fact and law in applying WTO rules, adding that there was no evidence that Australia was ...

Australia says it doesn't want trade war with China

More than a century ago, the Sotiria hospital in Athens was built as a public sanatorium for patients with a feared infectious disease that spread through coughing and killed indiscriminately  tuberculosis.
Now Greece's main hospital for COVID-19 patients, it's also the focus of a hands-on training program for dozens of medical students who volunteered to relieve hard-pressed doctors from simpler duties while gaining a close peek at the front lines as medical history is being made.
When the Sotiria  which means salvation in Greek  was designated to lead the country's coronavirus response in March, medical staff quickly found themselves too busy to properly carry out ordinary duties at a major Athens hospital that treats all kinds of patients.
That's when two doctors and professors of medicine at Athens University thought of seeking help from volunteers.
The program was initially designed for graduates in medicine, but so many students, mostly in their final year, asked to join that it 

Students help keep Greek COVID hospital on track

An influential group of British lawmakers is accusing the government of failing to conduct enough tests for the new coronavirus, saying the lapse helped COVID-19 cut a deadly swath through the country's nursing homes.
The House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee says that testing capacity has been inadequate for most of the pandemic so far.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, committee chairman Greg Clark said Britain's testing capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity.
The UK authorities initially sought to trace and test everyone who had been in contact with people infected with the coronavirus. But they abandoned that strategy in mid-March as the number of infections overwhelmed the country's limited testing capacity.
Clark, a lawmaker from the governing Conservatives, said that pivotal decision meant that nursing home residents and staff were not tested at a time when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant. Thousands of nursing home 

UK government accused of virus testing failures

A rocket struck Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government, early on Tuesday morning, according to an Iraqi military statement, the first attack on the area since a new prime minister was sworn in earlier this month.
The Katyusha rocket hit an empty house, causing minor damages,. The Green Zone is where government buildings and foreign embassies are located. A preliminary investigation indicated the rocket was launched from the nearby by Al-Idrisi neighbourhood on Palestine Street, the statement said.
Previous attacks have frequently targeted the US presence in Iraq, including the US Embassy and Iraqi bases hosting American troops. The US has blamed Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia group backed by Iran, of perpetrating the attacks.
The new administration of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who came to power earlier this month, is preparing for a strategic dialogue with Washington, expected to take place next month. The talks will touch on security and ...

Iraq military: Rocket hit Baghdad Green Zone, minor damages

Civil rights groups sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Monday, saying the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility is failing to impose social distancing rules to protect individuals held on civil immigration charges during the coronavirus outbreak.
The New York Civil Liberties Union and Prisoners Legal Services of New York made their complaints known in a federal lawsuit in Buffalo that seeks class action status to protect individuals held at the Batavia, New York, lockup who are vulnerable to COVID-19.
The lawsuit demands that authorities comply with Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as they treat medically at-risk people in the facility.
According to the lawsuit, at least 49 of 319 people detained at the lockup on April 25 had tested positive for COVID-19, representing a 1,200% growth in infections since April 9 and making it one of the worst hit ICE detention centers nationwide.
A message for comment was left with the Justice Department in ...

Civil rights groups sue ICE over Buffalo detention facility

A man shot and killed three members of his family and then killed himself after an argument in their South Carolina home, authorities said.
Two children escaped from the home in St. Matthews during the shooting around 7 p.m. Sunday, Calhoun County Sheriff Thomas Summers said.
Gabriel Jordan, 37, killed Shanta Singleton, 37, and two of her daughters  Essence Stroman, 15, and Trevay Stroman, 12  before killing himself, said Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth.
One of the two children who escaped was shot in the arm and treated at the hospital.
The shooting happened after an argument, Summers said in a statement that didn't include additional details on the dispute.
Summers called the violence senseless and unimaginable in his county of around 15,000 people about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Columbia.

Deputies: Man kills 3 family members, then himself in SC

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will likely come under tough questioning from senators Tuesday about a small business lending program included in the government's $2 trillion relief package.
Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the Payroll Protection Program, which initially provided $349 billion in forgivable loans to small companies but has been plagued by a host of problems.
Many businesses were unable to get loans before the initial funding was exhausted. A second round of loans faced computer processing delays and a number of publicly traded companies ended up receiving money that Mnuchin demanded be paid back to the government.
Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify Tuesday at 10 a.m. before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. The hearing is the first oversight review of the huge relief legislation approved in early March.
Mnuchin said in prepared testimony that so far, the paycheck program has processed more than 4.2 million ..

Mnuchin to face grilling about small-business lending effort

South Korea has reported 13 fresh cases, a possible sign that a recent outbreak in the capital area is stabilizing, as officials prepare to reopen schools.
Nine of the new cases were from Seoul and nearby regions, where dozens of infections have been linked to clubgoers who went out in early May as the country began relaxing social distancing measures.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip urged vigilance to maintain hard-won gains against the virus and called for education officials to double check preventive measures with high-school seniors returning to school on Wednesday.

COVID-19: South Korean schools to reopen

Australia's trade minister has described as deeply disappointing China's imposition of tariffs of around 80 per cent on Australian barley in a dispute that has been linked to Australian support for a coronavirus inquiry.
The tariffs come a week after China banned beef imports from Australia's four largest abattoirs over labeling issues. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says Australia could appeal to the World Trade Organization to resolve both disputes.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian says China is looking into trade issues between the sides in accordance with related laws and WTO rules.
Australian barley farmer Andrew Weidemann says China has been investigating Australian barley for 18 months, but Australia's call for a coronavirus inquiry didn't help.

Aus disappointed over China's tariffs of around 80 per cent on its barley

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam says the territory is ramping up testing, especially for workers at the busy international airport and caregivers at homes for the elderly and disabled.
Lam said Tuesday that tests would be increased from 4,500 to 7,000 daily with both the government health department and university laboratories taking part.
Hong Kong has gone several days without new local infections, but a recent family cluster has increased concerns about those who show no symptoms passing the virus on to others, something the authorities hope can be remedied by increased testing.
Speaking to reporters at a routine morning briefing, Lam said a decision would soon be made on whether to extend social distancing rules set to expire on Thursday.
If they are maintained for another two weeks, they would be in effect during the annual commemoration of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on prod-democracy protests in Beijing that is routinely marked with a rally and march in Hong Kong.
A Mother's Day .

Hong Kong testing more airport, care home staff

A registry of death certificates in Mexico City suggests there were 4,577 cases where doctors mentioned coronavirus or COVID-19 as a possible or probable cause of death, more than three times the official death toll in the city.
The federal government acknowledges only 1,332 confirmed deaths in Mexico City since the pandemic began, less than a third as many as the investigation revealed.
The anti-corruption group Mexicans Against Corruption said in a report Monday that it got access to a database of death certificates issued in Mexico City between March 18 and May 12.
It showed that in explanatory notes attached to 4,577 death certificates, doctors included the words SARS, COV2, COV, COVID-19, or new coronavirus. The virus' technical name is SARS-CoV-2.
The notes the group counted included terms like suspected, "probable, or possible role of the virus in the deaths.
In 3,209 of the certificates, it was listed as a suspected contributing factor along with other causes of death, like ...

Civic group: Mexico City virus deaths 3 times those reported

Attackers used a remotely-controlled bomb and assault rifles to ambush a convoy of Pakistani troops assigned to protect an oil and gas facility in the country's restive southwest, killing six soldiers and wounding four, officials said Tuesday.
According to intelligence and security officials, the attack took place on Monday night in a remote area of Pir Ghaib, a town in southwestern Baluchistan province. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters.
The casualties were brought to a military hospital in Quetta, the capital of impoverished Baluchistan province.  Hours after the attack, Mureed Baloch, a spokesman for the separatist United Baluch Army, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement, he said the group targeted Pakistani soldiers assigned to protect engineers of an oil and gas facility in the region.
Earlier this month, another separatist group targeted troops with a roadside bomb in an area of Baluchistan near ..

Officials: Attackers kill 6 Pakistani troops in southwest

The United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate reduction of violence in Afghanistan, warning that civilian deaths by both the Taliban and Afghan security forces are on the increase.
The UN mission also expressed concern about stepped-up attacks and brutality of the Islamic State group.
A horrific attack last week at a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital has not been claimed by any group, but the United States said it bears all the hallmarks of Afghanistan's IS affiliate  targeting the country's minority Shiites in a neighbourhood of Kabul that IS militants have repeatedly attacked in the past.
The Taliban denied involvement in the maternity hospital attack, which killed 24 people, including two infants and several new mothers.
The UN report blamed the Taliban for killing 208 civilians last month and also said that operations by Afghan forces in April had killed 172 civilians.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the fighting and Afghan forces say they are ...

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