The EU on Tuesday urged all countries to back the World Health Organisation (WHO) after President Donald Trump threatened to permanently cut US funding.
European Commission spokeswoman Virginie Battu-Henriksson said global cooperation is "the only effective and viable option to win this battle".
She said, This is the time for solidarity. It is not the time for finger pointing or undermining multilateral cooperation."
In a letter to WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump wrote the agency's "repeated missteps" in its response to the pandemic have proven "very costly for the world".
Trump threatened to cut US' WHO funding unless it commits to "substantive improvements" in the next 30 days.

European Union urges all nations to back WHO

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Regulations allowing Germany's foreign intelligence service to monitor the communications of reporters working abroad and others violate the country's constitution and must be changed, Germany's highest court ruled Tuesday, deciding in favour of journalists-rights group Reporters Without Borders and others.
The complaint against the foreign intelligence service, the BND, came after a law was changed allowing the agency, starting in 2017, to collect and evaluate communications from foreigners abroad without having to provide legal justification.
In the complaint, Reporters Without Borders, Germany's GFF civil rights association, as well as several journalists and others argued that blanket telecommunications surveillance meant that German reporters, and others, working with colleagues in other countries could also be spied upon, in violation of the constitution.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe agreed, ruling that the law must be redrawn by the end of 2021 at the latest, ..

German court nixes law allowing foreign telecom monitoring

A group of former demonstrators gathered in Thailand's capital on Tuesday to remember those killed when soldiers violently ended a months-long anti-government protest 10 years ago.
Around 50 people died when troops, firing live rounds and backed by armored vehicles, stormed barricades to drive out thousands of protesters known as the Red Shirts.
They had occupied part of the city's central business district to try to force out a government they considered illegitimate.
The fatalities included a nurse who was shot in the grounds of a temple as she tended to the injured.
Twenty-five people who participated in the protest attended Tuesday's memorial event, led by Red Shirt chairman Jatuporn Prompan.
There was little sign of politics and no rousing rhetoric. Instead, the atmosphere was solemn and subdued. The mourners gave gifts to Buddhist monks and then knelt while the monks chanted prayers.
Under pressure from the government, commemorations of the killings have dwindled in size in ...

Ceremony marks 10th anniversary of quashing of Thai protests

The United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate reduction of violence in Afghanistan, warning that civilian casualties at the hands of 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 or injuring a total of 208 civilians last month and also said that operations by Afghan forces in April had killed or injured 172 civilians.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of .

UN: Civilian casualties by Taliban, Afghan forces rising

The USS Theodore Roosevelt will return to sea later this week, nearly two months after the ship was sidelined in Guam with a rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak, US officials said as the crew finished final preparations to depart.
In an interview from the aircraft carrier, Navy Capt. Carlos Sardiello said Monday the ship will sail with a scaled-back crew of about 3,000, leaving about 1,800 sailors on shore who are still in quarantine.
Those include up to 14 sailors who recently tested positive again, just days after getting cleared to return to the carrier. The puzzling COVID-19 reappearance in the sailors adds to the difficulty in getting the ship's crew healthy again, and fuels questions about the quality of the testing and just how long sailors may remain infected or contagious.
Sardiello would not discuss timelines or planned operations. But other U.S. officials said the ship is expected to leave in the next few days, and if all goes well it will conduct naval operations in the ..

Carrier sidelined by coronavirus heads back to sea this week

How's this as an antidote for coronavirus blues: A genuine painting by Pablo Picasso on your wall.
After an eight-week delay caused by France's COVID-19 lockdown, the Christie's auction house in Paris is hosting a raffle draw Wednesday for Nature Morte, an oil on canvas that Picasso painted in 1921.
Proceeds will help provide villagers in Cameroon, Madagascar and Morocco with water  a basic need more essential than ever now for people to wash and protect themselves against the global pandemic.
Raffle organizers say they have already raised 5 million euros (USD 5.4 million) by selling 50,000 tickets online for 100 euros (USD 109) each. Their hoped-for sales target was 200,000 tickets, but the coronavirus crisis complicated the task.
Buyers have so far come from more than 100 countries, with the bulk sold in France, the United States, Switzerland and Italy. The winner of a similar raffle in 2013 was a 25-year-old fire sprinkler worker from Pennsylvania.
I hope this time it will be won ..

An antidote to coronavirus blues? A Picasso on your wall

Health experts say U.S. President Donald Trump's increasing attacks on the World Health Organization for its handling of the coronavirus demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the U.N. agency's role and could ultimately serve to weaken global health.
In a letter to WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump wrote that WHO's repeated missteps in its response to the pandemic have proven very costly for the world.
On Monday, Trump threatened to permanently cut U.S. funding to WHO unless the agency commits to substantive improvements in the next 30 days.
I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America's interests, he wrote.
The U.S. is WHO's biggest donor, providing about $450 million a year.
Devi Sridhar, a professor of global health at the University of Edinburgh, said the letter was likely written for Trump's political base and meant to deflect blame for the virus' ...

Experts: Trump's threats to WHO could undercut global health

Pakistan on Tuesday termed as "illegal" India's new domicile rules in Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that it was in clear violation of the UN resolutions and agreements between the two countries.
Under the domicile rules, all those persons and their children who have resided for 15 years in Jammu and Kashmir or have studied for seven years and appeared in class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution in the Union Territory are eligible for grant of domicile.
"The new domicile law is illegal and in clear violation of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, international law including the 4th Geneva Convention and bilateral Agreements between Pakistan and India, the Foreign Office said.
It also alleged that the domicile law is aimed at changing the demographic structure of the Valley.
Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5 and bifurcating it into two Union ...

Pakistan criticises India's new domicile law for Jammu and Kashmir

New coronavirus cases have been spiking from India to South Africa to Mexico in a clear indication that the pandemic is far from over, while Russia and Brazil now sit behind only the United States in the number of reported infections.
The surges come even as much of Asia, Europe and scores of US states have seen enough progress in their fight against the virus to focus on how best to reopen their economies.
US autoworkers, French teachers and Thai mall workers are among the hundreds of thousands of employees back on the job with new safety precautions.
Russia reported a steady rise in new infections Tuesday and new hot spots have emerged across the vast nation of about 147 million.
Russia registered 9,263 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to nearly 300,000 infections  about half of them in Moscow. Authorities say 2,837 people with COVID-19 have died in Russia, a figure that international health experts have questioned.
In Russia's second-largest city of St Petersburg, 

Global worries as infections spike in Russia, Brazil, India

Leading professional associations for doctors in the UK have written to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to reconsider a surcharge added on to the work visas of overseas healthcare workers, including those from India, within the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), terming it as deeply unfair.
In a letter issued by Doctors Association UK on Monday, Indian-origin chair Rinesh Parmar branded the surcharge as deeply unfair and the government's move to dismiss a previous statement promising a review into the issue as a gross insult to medics on the coronavirus frontlines.
At a time when we are mourning colleagues your steadfast refusal to reconsider the deeply unfair immigration health surcharge is a gross insult to all who are serving this country at its time of greatest need, notes the letter.
Not only is this a betrayal of all these hardworking people, but also represents a deterrent to attracting talented and skilled workers to the UK  a stated aim of this government's immigration 

Doctors body in UK appeals to Home Secretary to reconsider unfair' visa surcharge

Nepal's COVID-19 cases crossed 400 on Tuesday after 27 new infections were reported in the country, the health ministry has said.
According to Ministry of Health and Population, nine people from Jhapa, 4 from Kapilvastu, 3 from Kathmandu and two from Sarlahi district have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Also, one person each from Morang, Sunsari, Bhaktapur, Makawanpur, Ramechhap, Lalitpur, Sindhuli, Lamjung and Nawalparasi have tested COVID-19 positive, the ministry said.
The total number of coronavirus infected patients has jumped to 402 in the country, it said.
All those who tested positive are aged between 17 and 42. 24 of them are men and three are women, it said.
Province no 5 has the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases followed by province 2 with 136 and province 1 with 54. Provinces 3,4,6 and 7 have 27, 4, 1 and 5 cases respectively.
Two persons, a man and a woman, have died due to COVID-19  in the country.
A total of 37 patients have recovered from the disease in ...

Nepal's coronavirus cases jump to 402

Hollywood star Nicole Kidman has broken her ankle amid lockdown, her husband, singer-songwriter Keith Urban confirmed.
Photographs of the "Big Little Lies" actor walking around in a cast at the musician's first drive-in concert surfaced on social media last week.
The surprise benefit gig for frontline workers amid the coronavirus pandemic took place on May 15 at Stardust Drive-In movie theatre 60 miles outside of Nashville.
"She broke her ankle, but she's a trooper. There she was last night among all of the folks, hobbling around on her boot with her mask on," Urban, 52, told Entertainment Tonight the following day after the picture went viral.
However, the country singer did not share any other details about how Kidman, 52, injured herself.
The actor had posted a photograph from the concert, but cropped it to avoid showing the injury.
"Keith just had to play! Isolating with live music at last night's first #UrbanUnderground drive-in gig for the incredible #frontline workers," she ...

Nicole Kidman breaks ankle in lockdown

Since the novel coronavirus can easily spread among a vast pool of highly susceptible people, without control measures, seasonal and geographic climate variations alone may not slow down the pandemic, a new study says.
The findings of the research, published in the journal Science, noted that strong outbreaks are likely in more humid climates, and summer weather will not substantially limit the growth of the pandemic.
According to the researchers, including those from Princeton University in the US, a large number of people are still vulnerable to the novel coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the speed at which the pathogen spreads, they said climate conditions are only likely to "make a dent" in the current rate of infection.
"We project that warmer or more humid climates will not slow the virus at the early stage of the pandemic," said study first author Rachel Baker from Princeton University.
While climate has some influence on the size and timing of the pandemic in .

Humid climates, summer weather may not limit pandemic growth: Study

Tainted Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal on Tuesday appealed against his three-year ban slapped by the PCB for failing to report a corrupt  approach.
Geo reported that Akmal has filed an appeal and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will appoint an independent panel to hear the matter. The sports website also reported that Akmal has hired Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan's law firm to help him in his case.
PCB had banned Akmal from all forms of cricket last month after its disciplinary panel found him guilty of not reporting corrupt approaches ahead of the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.
Akmal was suspended hours before his PSL team Quetta Gladiators was to take on Islamabad in the opening match of the 2020 PSL in February.
The PCB charged him for double breach of Article 2.4.4 of its Anti-Corruption Code in two unrelated incidents in February this year ahead of the PSL  -- a T20 event also featuring international cricketers.
Akmal was suspended hours ..

Umar Akmal appeals against his three-year ban

China on Tuesday said the Kalapani border issue is between India and Nepal as it hoped that the two neighbours could refrain from "unilateral actions" and properly resolve their disputes through friendly consultations.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a media briefing here while replying to questions on India-Nepal differences over the border and Indian Army chief Gen. MM Naravane's remarks that Kathmandu was objecting to the newly built road by India at the behest of "someone else".
"Kalapani is an issue between Nepal and India, and we hope the two countries properly solve their disputes through friendly consultations, Zhao said.
Zhao also said Nepal and India also should "refrain from unilateral actions that might complicate the situation.
Gen Naravane said on Friday that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent ...

Kalapani is an issue between India and Nepal: China

A newly-wed woman, mothers who said emotional farewell to their kids and sons who left their aged parents to fend for themselves - these are some of the first batch of 88 male and female Indian nurses who started their work on Tuesday to help the UAE fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team of nurses arrived in the UAE from India early this month to help the Gulf nation combat the coronavirus. The nurses are from Aster DM Healthcare hospitals in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
After a week of quarantine and another round of COVID-19 negative results, the nurses began an orientation programme on Sunday. The deployment to their assigned facilities began on Tuesday.
"A large number of them are going to hospitals under the Dubai Health Authority  (DHA). The DHA is also supporting some private players (healthcare groups) by deputing these nurses to places where there is a requirement. It is important that we support each other now," Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and ...

Indian nurses start work to combat COVID-19 in UAE

Shakespeare's Globe theater, one of London's major tourist attractions, says it could be forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic.
All of Britain's theaters have been shut since March, when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus.
While some venues receive government subsidy, the Globe gets 95% of its revenue from ticket sales.
The theater says the blow from the pandemic has been financially devastating and could even be terminal. Parliament's culture committee told the government that the Globe was part of our national identity.
It said that for this national treasure to succumb to COVID-19 would be a tragedy.
The Globe is a reconstructed Elizabethan playhouse beside the River Thames modeled on the theater where many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed. It opened in 1997 and draws hundreds of thousands of people a year to its open-air productions.

Shakespeare's Globe theater in London may be shuttered due to the virus

Russia's prime minister has fully resumed his duties after recovering from the coronavirus.
Mikhail Mishustin, 54, announced that he had been infected in a televised call with President Vladimir Putin on April 30.
On Tuesday, Mishustin's office said that he has checked out of the hospital and returned to his duties in the Cabinet headquarters. He is set to take part in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin later in the day.
Several Cabinet ministers and Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov also have been infected. Peskov said that he had double pneumonia caused by the virus. He noted that he hadn't met with Putin in person for more than a month.
Putin has limited public appearances and held most of his meetings online during the virus pandemic.

Russia's PM back to work after bout with virus

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will stage a new competition called the 'European Solidarity Cup' in 2021 to raise money for medical facilities in Italy and Spain.
The three clubs will play each other in a round-robin group, with Inter against Bayern held in Milan, Real facing Inter in Madrid and Bayern hosting Real in Munich.
Proceeds from the fixtures will be donated to medical facilities in Italy and Spain, two of the world's worst-hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic.
The aim is "to send out a message of solidarity and fraternity to the people of Europe", said a statement from Real Madrid.
Dates for the tournament have not been decided. The timing will "depend on the match calendar and when football can be played in front of fans again", the clubs said.
Bayern will invite 5,000 nurses, carers and doctors to the Allianz Arena for their match against Real Madrid.
"Nurses, carers and doctors in particular are doing an outstanding job for society at the moment," said ..

Real Madrid, Bayern and Inter Milan to launch European Solidarity Cup

Cricket Australia rushed into introducing cost-cutting measures and it should delay the slashing of grants of state associations till a clearer picture emerges about India's upcoming tour, feels New South Wales (NSW) bosses.
CA, led by chief executive Kevin Roberts, had claimed that it has suffered a AUD 20 million (10.6 million pounds) fall in revenue due to COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, the governing body had furloughed about 80 percent of its staff and is currently pushing member states to agree to a 25 per cent cuts to their grants, besides being in talks with players about adjusting pay.
Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon and chairman John Knox in an email to its staff and other stakeholders said it will wait to understand if cost reduction was required.
"Cricket Australia has proposed a 25 per cent reduction to its distributions to each state and territory for the upcoming 2020/21 season," the email was quoted as saying by 'the Age'.
"We are ...

CA's decision to reduce state grants should be delayed until better understanding emerges: NSW

Prince Charles has urged the public to join a national effort to help farmers bring in the harvest, comparing the need to pick fruit and vegetables with World War II era programmes that fed the nation.
The heir to Britain's throne offered his support to a government's initiative to bring UK workers and farmers together to ensure crops are not left to rot in the fields.
Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis have impeded the travel of seasonal workers who have done the hard work in the past.
The prince, who runs an organic farm, said in a video that "if the last few weeks have proved anything, it is that food is precious and valued, and it cannot be taken for granted".
He said food does not happen by magic and made no effort to gloss over the effort that would be required.
"It will be hard graft but is hugely important if we are to avoid the growing crops going to waste," he said.

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