bbc--2020-07-24--Trump scraps Republican convention in virus 'flare-up'

President Donald Trump has cancelled the pre-election Republican party convention in Florida , blaming the coronavirus `` flare-up '' .
`` It 's not the right time for that , '' he said , adding that he would still give a convention speech in a different form .
It comes as the number of cases of Covid-19 in the US passed four million .
Part of the convention will go ahead in North Carolina , where Mr Trump will be formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate .
The event , shortened to half a day , will be held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Charlotte , the original venue for the convention .
Mr Trump switched the location to Jacksonville , Florida after the Democratic governor of North Carolina insisted in May on limiting the crowd size at the convention , on the grounds of social distancing .
• Is the pandemic getting worse in the US ?
• Why are Americans so angry about masks ?
What did the president say ?
Mr Trump told Thursday 's White House coronavirus briefing that safety was his main concern in calling off the four-night convention .
`` It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be for a little while , '' the president said , adding that he `` just felt it was wrong '' to put potentially tens of thousands of attendees at risk .
`` We did n't want to take any chances , '' he told reporters .
`` We have to be careful and we have to set an example . ''
The sheriff in Jacksonville warned this week the city was not ready for next month 's event .
Traditionally four days long , the national nominating conventions of both Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal party contests in the lead-up to the November polls .
There , delegates from across the country vote for their preferred candidate .
Historically these events attracts tens of thousands of people and are held in a festive-like atmosphere .
Florida - a state crucial to the president 's re-election hopes - is behind only California and New York in total cases .
Opinion polls suggest Mr Trump is facing an uphill battle for a second term in office amid criticism of his handling of the pandemic .
What will happen at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sole Republican candidate , after his last remaining challenger , former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld , dropped out in March .
At the convention , some 2,472 delegates - though it is unclear how many will actually attend this year because of the pandemic - will vote for Mr Trump as their nominee , officially launching his re-election bid .
The party will also unveil its platform , or manifesto .
In normal times , thousands of journalists , party grandees , lawmakers and guests would attend the convention .
This year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice-presidential nominee addresses the gathering a day before the presidential candidate 's acceptance speech marks the culmination of the event .
Mr Trump 's penchant for limelight and rallies though will ensure it is anything but subdued .
Democratic Party officials taunted the president over his announcement .
They are going to hold an almost entirely virtual convention in August in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , where Mr Trump 's challenger , Joe Biden , will formally accept the party nomination .
A Democratic strategist involved in the preparations said : `` I wonder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the party who recognised the limitations early on and have been planning for a mostly virtual/digital television production to capitalise on a prime-time audience of millions , or the clowns who keep moving theirs from place to place and have no concrete plan a month out . ''
In a `` socially-distanced '' conversation released on Thursday , Mr Biden and his former boss , ex-President Barack Obama , poured scorn on Mr Trump 's deflection of blame in March .
At that time Mr Trump said : `` I do n't take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delays in Covid-19 testing .
`` Can you imagine standing up when you were president , saying , 'It 's not my responsibility ? '
'' said Mr Biden , the former vice-president , in their chat recorded last week .
Mr Obama replied : `` Those words did n't come out of our mouths when we were in office . ''
As well as passing four million confirmed cases on Thursday , the US has recorded more than 144,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 .
On Wednesday , California passed New York - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - for the most confirmed cases with 409,000 .
On the same day , Missouri , North Dakota and West Virginia all broke their records for the most new cases in a 24-hour period .
Alabama , Idaho and Texas also reported new record highs in daily deaths .
Across the US on Wednesday , a total 69,707 new virus cases were recorded .
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are meanwhile negotiating a deal to pass a fifth economic stimulus package .
The price tag for the previous four stands at $ 3tr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
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A Democratic strategist involved in the preparations said: "I wonder who will have the better convention - the party who recognised the limitations early on and have been planning for a mostly virtual/digital television production to capitalise on a prime-time audience of millions, or the clowns who keep moving theirs from place to place and have no concrete plan a month out."


bbc--2020-07-24--Hagia Sophia: Former Istanbul museum welcomes Muslim worshippers

Crowds have gathered in Istanbul , as the historic Hagia Sophia site opened for Friday prayers for the first time since Turkish authorities ruled it could be converted into a mosque .
`` Muslims are excited , everyone wants to be at the opening , '' Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday .
The 1,500-year-old Unesco World Heritage site became a museum in 1934 .
But a Turkish court annulled its status , saying any use other than as a mosque was `` not possible legally '' .
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan then announced that the world-famous site would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , and he was seen joining worshippers at around midday ( 09:00 GMT ) .
About 1,000 people were allowed in through security checkpoints , while others laid out prayer mats outside .
The decision to turn it back into a mosque was criticised by religious and political leaders worldwide .
Hagia Sophia was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and first converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest nine centuries later .
While there was considerable excitement as crowds headed to the Unesco site , not everyone was happy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ has described the move to turn it back into a mosque after 86 years as political rather than religious .
What do prayers at the site look like ?
In a televised address on Thursday , Governor Yerlikaya urged those attending prayers on Friday to bring `` [ face ] masks , a prayer rug , patience and understanding '' to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 .
He added that healthcare workers would be made available at the site .
Religious Affairs Minister Ali Erbas said about 1,000 people would be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Many of those who reached the grounds of the ancient site on Friday sat outside , waiting for the opening ceremony to start .
Inside , a turquoise carpet had been laid on the floor to prepare for prayers and Christian relics were covered up with white drapes or obscured by lighting .
Scaffolding was erected inside the dome as builders scrambled to convert the interior of the ancient building .
By Friday the scaffolding was largely covered by red panelling .
Among the Christian mosaics expected to be obscured during Muslim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virgin Mary and Jesus inside the apse .
Islamist groups and devout Muslims in Turkey had long called for Hagia Sophia to become a mosque again , but secular opposition members opposed the move .
When President Erdogan announced the decision on 10 July , it was met with widespread criticism .
Pope Francis responded by saying that his `` thoughts go to Istanbul , '' adding : `` I think of Santa Sophia and I am very pained . ''
The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church , Patriarch Bartholomew I , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would `` disappoint millions of Christians '' and fracture two worlds .
The World Council of Churches , a worldwide Christian organisation , warned the decision would sow division .
Unesco said it regretted the move , which further enflamed tensions with neighbouring Greece , home to millions of Orthodox followers .
• Why tensions have flared between Turkey and Greece But Mr Erdogan stressed that the country had exercised its sovereign right .
`` After 86 years , Hagia Sophia will serve as a mosque again , in the way Fatih the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deed , '' he said .
He added that the building would remain open to all Muslims , non-Muslims and foreign visitors .
Many Turks were sceptical .
A former Erdogan ally , Ali Babacan , said Hagia Sophia had `` come to the agenda now only to cover up other problems '' .
Novelist Orhan Pamuk told the BBC earlier this month that converting it back to a mosque was a statement to the world that Turks did not want to be secular any more , even though millions of Turks had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ museum .
The head of the secular Republican People 's Party ( CHP ) , Kemal Kilicdaroglu , said that all the president was concerned with was domestic politics .
And a July opinion poll suggested 43 % of Turks saw the move as a way of avoiding discussion of the country 's economic difficulties .
The iconic , domed building sits in Istanbul 's Fatih district , on the west bank of the Bosporus , overlooking the Golden Horn harbour .
Hagia Sophia 's complex history began almost 1,500 years ago , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church in the year 537 .
In 1453 , in a devastating blow to the Byzantines , Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II captured Istanbul ( formerly known as Constantinople ) and Hagia Sophia - an Orthodox Christian cathedral - was converted into a mosque for Friday prayers .
Four minarets were added to the exterior , while ornate Christian icons and gold mosaics were covered with panels of Arabic religious calligraphy .
After centuries at the heart of the Muslim Ottoman empire , it was turned into a museum in 1934 in a drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has since become one of its most popular tourist sites , receiving more than 3.7 million visitors last year .
Although it has had a small prayer room since 1991 , and calls to the faithful have been heard before , Friday 's event are the first mass prayers inside the site since the 1930s .

About 1,000 people were allowed in through security checkpoints, while others laid out prayer mats outside. An opening ceremony was followed by a formal prayer service and proceedings were relayed outside on a big screen. Four muezzin recited the call to prayer from each of the four minarets.


bbc--2020-07-23--Tokyo Olympics: Coronavirus risk raises questions over 2021 Games

For some athletes , today was the last chance to take part in the Tokyo Olympics .
They are too old , too exhausted or too financially stretched to wait for another year , after the pandemic forced its postponement .
One of them is 35-year-old Tetsuya Sotomura .
When I met him on a sweltering afternoon earlier this week he was still hard at it in a converted factory building in a north Tokyo suburb , flying high into the air , spinning and tumbling on a massive trampoline .
Back in 2008 Tetsuya placed 4th at the Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Since then he 's fought injury that put him out of London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 .
Tokyo was to be his last hurrah , a hometown Olympics to end his trampolining career on a high .
But another year is just too much .
`` Back in 2008 , if the Beijing Games had been postponed by a year I would have thought ok , it 's another year to train , another year to grow , '' he tells me .
`` But now I am 35 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
So , I have decided retirement is the only option . ''
But there is another reason Tetsuya is getting off the trampoline .
He thinks Tokyo 2021 may never happen .
`` It 's so uncertain .
No-one knows the probability .
If what awaits us next year is cancellation , I would have lost another year for nothing .
So that is another reason to go now . ''
Enthusiasm for the Games has plummeted in Japan since Covid-19 arrived here in January .
The Japanese government has closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the country from imported cases , and many Japanese people are in no hurry to see them re-open for athletes or spectators .
TV reporters have been visiting the towns due to host various foreign teams and asking locals how they feel .
The residents of a town north of Tokyo due to host the Brazilian team were clearly struggling to maintain any semblance of enthusiasm .
An opinion poll by the Kyodo news agency found just 23 % of people in Japan now support holding the games if Covid-19 infections are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figures from the World Health Organization ( WHO ) do not make for happy viewing .
More than 15 million infections worldwide , and that number is growing by about a million every four to five days .
• London 2012 - 10 things you may have forgotten • What is the best British Olympic moment ?
From the US to Brazil , from India to South Africa , suppression efforts are failing and infections are surging .
Of course , a year feels like a long time , but many health experts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic will be contained by next summer .
At Kobe University Hospital in western Japan , Prof Kentaro Iwata says the only hope for the Olympics is a vaccine .
`` If a vaccine is available it could be a game changer , '' he says .
`` Phase 1 and 2 trials have some promising results .
I have not lost hope .
`` But generally speaking vaccines do n't eradicate a virus , they lower the incidence by about half .
So , I do n't think Covid-19 can be eradicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] it will continue into 2021 . ''
Prof Iwata is particularly concerned looking at what is going on in the US , the country that more than any other pays for the Olympics .
`` The US will suffer from Covid for many months to come , '' he says .
`` Can athletes come from the US come here ?
Can we have the Olympics without Americans ?
Most likely not .
The priority must be the safety of the athletes and of Japanese people .
`` The US TV companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Olympics a sports competition or a TV show ? ''
There is one seemingly simple solution : push the Tokyo Games back another year to 2022 .
It is far more likely the pandemic will have run its course by then .
But that has been ruled out by the Japanese government .
From his home in Montreal the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee , Dick Pound , told me it is now 2021 or bust .
`` What we do know is 2021 is our last chance , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something we can put off until 2022 or 2023 .
I do n't think it 's fair to expect Japan to keep the balls in the air any longer .
To the extent that it 's safe for the athletes to come , every effort will be made for the Games to go forward .
`` That said , if public health authorities in Japan and around the world conclude that it 's not safe enough , there is probably no alternative but to say , 'oh well , the pandemic is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occasions the Olympic Games have been cancelled was during the two World Wars , and one of those was - you guessed it - Tokyo , in 1940 .
So how about one final idea : a much-simplified Games , with foreign athletes going through quarantine before arrival but foreign spectators kept away ?
According to Dick Pound , this is a non-starter .
`` In the North American phrase - you either have the fish or cut bait , '' he says .
`` Japan would have to decide , do they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the risks too much ?
In which case Japan would probably propose , and the IOC would accept , cancellation . ''
On Thursday night inside the Olympic stadium they held a ceremony to reset the clock , one year until the opening ceremony .
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insists the Games must go on but Covid-19 is almost certainly not listening .

There is one seemingly simple solution: push the Tokyo Games back another year to 2022. It is far more likely the pandemic will have run its course by then. But that has been ruled out by the Japanese government. From his home in Montreal the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee, Dick Pound, told me it is now 2021 or bust.


bbc--2020-07-24--US fighter jet challenges Iran passenger plane - Iran media

Iran 's media say at least one US fighter jet came dangerously close to an Iranian passenger plane in Syrian airspace - a claim denied by the US .
Iran 's Irib state news agency says the pilot of the Mahan Air aircraft had to quickly change altitude , which resulted in injuries to several passengers .
Video posted by Irib shows one jet from the window of the plane and a passenger who had blood on his face .
But the US military later said its F-15 jet was at a safe distance .
`` A US F-15 on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the at [ al ] -Tanf garrison in Syria conducted a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger airliner at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 metres [ 0.6 miles ] from the airliner this evening , '' Capt Bill Urban , spokesman for US Central Command , said in a statement late on Thursday .
He said the inspection was carried out to ensure the safety of personnel at the US military base at al-Tanf , near the border with Iraq and Jordan .
`` Once the F-15 pilot identified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plane , the F-15 safely opened distance from the aircraft , '' the spokesman added .
The Mahan Air aircraft en route from Tehran to Beirut landed safely in the Lebanese capital .
It was not immediately known how many passengers and crew were on board the plane .
After refuelling , the aircraft flew back to the Iranian capital on Friday .
In its earlier reports , Irib news agency said that two fighter jets could have been Israeli .
Israel `` had nothing to do with the incident '' , security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran was `` investigating '' the incident , adding that `` necessary political and legal measures will be taken '' .
Tensions between Iran and the US have soared since early 2018 when Donald Trump abandoned a multi-power agreement with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme .
Since then the two countries have accused each other of carrying out provocative actions against their interests in the region .
Mahan Air is a private Iranian airline that was established in 1991 .
In 2011 , the US imposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of providing financial , material and technological support to Iran 's elite Revolutionary Guards .
In 2019 , several European countries banned the company from operating at their airports .
A BBC Arabic investigation recently found the airline contributed to the spread of Covid-19 in the Middle East by continuing to fly to destinations where routine flight bans were in place .

Tensions between Iran and the US have soared since early 2018 when Donald Trump abandoned a multi-power agreement with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. Since then the two countries have accused each other of carrying out provocative actions against their interests in the region.


bbc--2020-07-23--Coronavirus lockdowns reduced human 'rumble'

The rumble generated by humanity took a big dive during the Covid lockdowns .
Everything we do - from driving our cars to operating our factories - produces ground motions that can be detected by seismometers .
An international team of researchers says this noise fell by up to half when coronavirus restrictions were enforced .
The period March-May represents `` the longest and most prominent global anthropogenic seismic noise reduction on record '' , they tell Science journal .
The group obtained their motion data from a global network of 268 seismic stations in 117 countries .
Many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Raspberry-Pi mini-computers .
• Dirty air 'on the rise again ' in UK cities These instruments were sensitive to all types of vibrations but also that band of frequencies , in the region of 4-14 Hertz , where human activities show up .
Their information reveals how the quieting started in January in China , the origin of the Covid crisis , and then spread like a wave to the rest of the globe .
As people were ordered home , travel restrictions were imposed , and places of work came to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ground were abruptly dialled down .
The biggest reductions were recorded in the most densely populated areas , like Singapore and New York City , but drops were also observed in remote areas like Germany 's Black Forest and Rundu in Namibia .
And the phenomenon was n't confined just to the surface ; the quieting was evident even at stations placed in boreholes hundreds of metres underground .
Seismometers have long recognised a drop in this shaking at nights , at weekends and during holiday periods - but this lull was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think one of the most interesting things for me is that this is really our first look at what actually contributes to the human-caused field of noise , '' observed co-author Dr Steve Hicks from Imperial College London , UK .
`` And as populations get bigger , and as cities get bigger - particularly those in geologically hazardous areas - we need to work out how we 're going to monitor those hazards , such as earthquakes , volcanoes and landslides .
Because as time goes on , more and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kinds of events are going to get concealed . ''
Dr Hicks highlighted a shallow , Magnitude 5 earthquake that occurred in Mexico during its lockdown .
The location meant that its signal would not normally be detected in urban areas without special processing of the data .
On this occasion , however , the `` filtering '' was n't necessary because the human vibrations that would otherwise smother the natural signal were reduced by 40 % .
Dr Hicks says a better understanding of human seismic noise could therefore improve the detection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give warning of potentially harmful events , such as a volcanic eruption .
The team says it saw very strong correlations with the mobility trends compiled by the likes of Google and Apple .
These trends are derived from the locations and movements of cell phones .
Governments used this information to gauge how well populations were following lockdown rules .
Dr Hicks says if we go back into wide-scale restrictions then the seismic data offers an alternative form of monitoring that may carry fewer privacy concerns .
`` I guess people worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even though this information should be anonymised .
But the very strong correlations with the mobile phone data mean the seismic noise can also be used to monitor mobility , from a more general point of view on , for example , the city scale ; or in those places where the phone data simply is n't available .
We were n't able to access any data like that for China , for example . ''
The scientific collaboration that examined the seismic data involved 76 authors from 66 institutions in 27 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr Thomas Lecocq from the Royal Observatory of Belgium .
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET @ bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter : @ BBCAmos

"I guess people worry that their mobile phone is tracking them, even though this information should be anonymised. But the very strong correlations with the mobile phone data mean the seismic noise can also be used to monitor mobility, from a more general point of view on, for example, the city scale; or in those places where the phone data simply isn't available. We weren't able to access any data like that for China, for example."


bbc--2020-07-24--Sudan mass grave linked to anti-Bashir coup attempt

A mass grave has been discovered in Sudan containing 28 bodies , thought to be the remains of army officers executed for carrying out a coup attempt in 1990 against former President Omar al-Bashir .
Bashir had seized power in a military coup the previous year .
In April 1990 , the officers had surrounded an army headquarters and several barracks before being arrested and killed .
He went on trial this week over the 1989 coup which brought him to power .
• Get the latest updates from across Africa How were the bodies found ?
The bodies were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the capital Khartoum .
Public prosecutor Tagelsir al-Hebr told AFP news agency that the search for bodies was part of investigations into atrocities committed under Bashir 's rule .
`` It took three weeks and the work of 22 experts from different fields to locate it . ''
`` Operations are under way to dig up the bodies and medical experts will carry out tests to identify the remains , '' he is quoted as saying by AFP .
It is the second mass grave discovered recently .
Last month , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass grave suspected to contain the remains of students killed in 1998 as they tried escaping military service at a training camp .
Where is Bashir now ?
Bashir was overthrown last year after months of pro-democracy demonstrations .
He is currently in prison in Khartoum , having already been convicted of corruption .
The International Criminal Court in the Hague also wants to try Bashir for genocide and war crimes committed in the Darfur region , where 300,000 people were killed .
You may also be interested in : • 'The revolution @ @ @ @ @

"Operations are under way to dig up the bodies and medical experts will carry out tests to identify the remains," he is quoted as saying by AFP.


bbc--2020-07-24--US lottery jackpot shared after 1992 handshake

Long-time friends Joe Feeney and Tom Cook made a pact in 1992 - sealed with a handshake - that if one of them won the US Powerball lottery they would share it .
Nearly 30 years later the numbers came up for Tom - and he honoured the deal .
Joe said he was stunned when his friend called to say they were sharing the $ 22m ( £17m ) jackpot .
`` He called me and I said , 'are you jerking my bobber ? '
'' said the keen fisherman .
The two men live in the Menomonie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Congratulations to Tom , Joe , and their families , '' Wisconsin Lottery director Cindy Polzin said in a statement .
`` The power of friendship and a handshake has paid off .
I 'm thrilled for them .
Their lucky day has arrived . ''
• US Powerball lottery : Still no claimant for $ 520m Florida win The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are estimated to be one in about 292 million .
The two men decided to take a cash option of about $ 16.7m which means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - each will take home about $ 5.7m .
Tom decided to retire after learning about the win while Joe was already retired .
They say they are looking forward to spending more time with family .
`` We can pursue what we feel comfortable with .
I ca n't think of a better way to retire , '' said Tom .
Tom bought the winning $ 2 Powerball ticket at a shop in Menomonie for the draw on 10 June .
In March 2019 another Wisconsin man was named as the winner @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Tom decided to retire after learning about the win while Joe was already retired. They say they are looking forward to spending more time with family.


bbc--2020-07-24--Taiwanese laundry-modelling grandparents are surprise Instagram hit

`` I never would 've thought at my age so many people would want to look at pictures of me , '' says 84-year-old Hsu Hsiu-e. She smiles proudly , standing in her laundrette with washed and ironed laundry hanging from overhead poles or stuffed inside glass cabinets all around her .
For 70 years , she and her husband , Chang Wan-ji , 83 , have been quietly washing the clothes of the people in Houli District , Taichung City , in central Taiwan .
Over the decades , hundreds of pieces of clothing have piled up that customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their grandson , Reef Chang , convinced them to have fun by modelling the abandoned clothes and posting the pictures on Instagram .
And to their surprise , their posts have become a big hit - so far their WantShowAsYoung account has 130,000 followers from around the world .
But Reef Chang says he was n't aiming to make his grandparents famous , he simply wanted to help them fight boredom as they grew old in Houli , a sleepy district of around 50,000 people .
`` Their business is not always busy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shop and their spirits were n't high .
So I thought since our family has these clothes , I can remind people to pick up their clothes , and remind my grandparents their life can still be great even in old age , '' he told the BBC .
So with advice from friends with good fashion sense , he helped his grandparents mix and match shirts , shorts , blouses , and skirts , accessorising with borrowed purses , hats and sunglasses .
He then took fashion magazine-worthy pictures of them posing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dryers in their old shop .
The looks created - grandpa in shorts and shirts that make him look like he was going to Havana , Cuba for holiday , and grandma in blouses and skirts that accentuated her slim figure - surprised the elderly couple .
The two strike poses that ooze style and chic - even in their '80s .
`` Dressed like that , I feel 30 years younger , '' said Wan-ji , beaming .
Hsiu-e 's favourite outfit is the one of her wearing a plaid skirt from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a customer and a hat .
`` I like the way I look in that outfit , '' she said .
Wan-ji , who started the dry cleaner at the age of 14 to help support his family , says people began leaving behind unwanted laundry in recent years when clothes became more affordable .
`` In the past , clothes were very expensive , '' Wan-ji recalled .
`` When I got married , it cost an ox-cart loaded with 20 bags of rice to pay for my suit .
And back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could take them to the pawn shop if you needed money . ''
Wan-ji says some people left clothes behind because they were from out of town and forgot to pick them up when they moved .
Others passed away and their families did n't care about the laundry .
Others had major changes in their lives , including a divorce , that made them forget to pick up their clothes .
The couple have donated hundreds of items of clothing to charities , especially after natural disasters , but they are still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initially felt awkward putting on customers ' clothes - a no no in their line of business - but their grandson convinced them to reinterpret fashion , let everyone know that age is not a barrier to having fun with clothing , and that even old clothes can be transformed into trendy outfits .
`` They did n't understand at first , '' said Reef .
`` They also do n't understand fashion trends , but when they were young they were very fashionable .
They thought why would people of this generation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Never having had an Instagram or Facebook account , and previously confusing `` followers '' with stalkers , they now happily listen to their grandson 's translations of people 's reactions to their posts .
`` You two are sooo cute , keep stylin ' '' wrote a woman from London on Instagram .
`` Wan-ji and Hsiu-e 's love make me think it 's not so scary to grow old , '' another fan wrote .
What makes the couple happiest is inspiring others to think that age is no obstacle to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many people are not really old , it 's just their heart is old .
They say they do n't have any energy and they rest and rest till their health declines , '' said Hsiu-e .
Neither she nor her husband plan to retire .
Wan-ji is instead thinking about what to do with the many suits left behind .
He says he 'd like to do a `` winter season collection '' on Instagram next .
For Reef , his reward is not only seeing his grandparents happier , but inadvertently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their elderly loved ones .
`` What really touched me is many people typed really long messages to me saying it reminded them that they have n't spent much time with their grandparents , '' said Reef .
`` I feel when I was young , they gave all their time for me .
Now that they 're so old , I do n't know how much more time I will have to spend time with them . ''
`` They 're very happy now ; they 've never been recognised like this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about all the unwanted laundry ?
Their Instagram account introduction ends with a friendly reminder : `` Do n't forget to pick up your laundry . ''
Someone who saw their posts recently did just that , while bringing in more laundry .

"Their business is not always busy. They would doze off in the shop and their spirits weren't high. So I thought since our family has these clothes, I can remind people to pick up their clothes, and remind my grandparents their life can still be great even in old age," he told the BBC.


bbc--2020-07-24--Coronavirus: Dr Anthony Fauci throws first pitch of US baseball season

Dr Anthony Fauci opened the 2020 baseball season in the US with a ceremonial pitch in Washington DC .
The @ @ @ @ @ honour ahead of a game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees .

Dr Anthony Fauci opened the 2020 baseball season in the US with a ceremonial pitch in Washington DC.
The disease expert was given the honour ahead of a game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees.


bbc--2020-07-23--Tokyo 2020: ‘Delaying the Olympics changed our careers’

Australian athlete Chloe Esposito was planning on competing at this summer ’ s Olympics , until she found out she @ @ @ @ @ to miss the Games .
But when coronavirus delayed the event until next summer , @ @ @ @ @ back in with a chance .
Meanwhile , US hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson has decided to @ @ @ @ @ , so she can compete in 2021 .
But for Team GB ’ s Alicia @ @ @ @ @ another year is just too long to wait .
They were going to push their @ @ @ @ @ summer to be able to compete but their injuries mean they will have to retire @ @ @ @ @ rearranged Games .

Australian athlete Chloe Esposito was planning on competing at this summer’s Olympics, until she found out she was pregnant and would have to miss the Games.
But when coronavirus delayed the event until next summer, she realised she’s back in with a chance.
Meanwhile, US hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson has decided to delay having her second child, so she can compete in 2021.
But for Team GB’s Alicia Blagg and Tom Ransley, another year is just too long to wait. They were going to push their bodies to the limit this summer to be able to compete but their injuries mean they will have to retire before next summer’s rearranged Games.
Interviews by Katie Smith
Video producer: Imran Rahman-Jones


bbc--2020-07-23--Rap duo 4 Wheel City and the Krip-Hop career they never expected

Black New Yorkers Ricardo Velasquez and Namel Norris were shot and paralysed when they were teenagers .
As rap duo 4 Wheel City they have received global acclaim and raised the prominence of Krip-Hop - a sub-genre of Hip-Hop which puts disabled matters front and centre and lets them express the `` double drama '' of being in two minority groups '' We grew up in the street so we were involved with guns and one day he was playing around with one , '' Namel says .
`` It went off and the bullet struck me in my neck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he simply wanted to get back to what he 'd always done .
He met up with his old friends , but it was n't the same and all the dynamics had changed now he could n't walk .
At the same time , Namel was getting fed-up with the constant questions people kept asking him about his injury - `` questions like , 'Are you going to walk again ? '
and , 'Does this work ? '
.
I was tired of people asking . ''
Listen to Namel and Rick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ podcast ... '' When your life gets changed or flipped upside down it makes you think differently , '' Namel says .
`` I think that 's why a lot of people out there are protesting right now because I feel like they had a wake-up call . ''
Mount Sinai Hospital commissioned them to rap about pressure sores - a serious problem for people with spinal cord injuries who may sit in their wheelchair for long periods of time - and a local organisation , Being First , recruited them to talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school students .
The rap duo last performed in the UK in 2012 at the London Paralympics , a unifying and positive event for disabled people around the world .
But they say the summer of 2020 with Covid-19 and BLM protests has , in some ways , made them feel the same .

But after Namel was discharged he simply wanted to get back to what he'd always done. He met up with his old friends, but it wasn't the same and all the dynamics had changed now he couldn't walk.


bbc--2020-07-24--Taylor Swift's new Folklore album sees the singer go indie

The lockdown has made many of us step back and take stock .
The sudden , seismic change to our lifestyles , the narrowing of our horizons , the inability to escape our families : It 's all prompted a wave of self-reflection and re-evaluation .
In April , she posted a photo to Instagram with the caption : `` Not a lot going on at the moment . ''
Twelve weeks later , she 's written and recorded an entirely new album , Folklore - a record that fills the void left by a summer of cancelled festival appearances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` In isolation my imagination has run wild , '' she writes in the liner notes .
`` Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy , history , and memory . ''
Fittingly , it 's a low-key , sombre record , looking back at old flames and old mistakes - some real , some imagined .
The Technicolor exuberance of last year 's Lover is entirely gone .
In its place are muted pianos , mournful harmonicas and finger-picked guitars .
This is Swift 's indie album @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice of collaborators - chiefly Aaron Dessner of The National , whose heartfelt and quietly anthemic songs have regularly featured on Swift 's playlists , is a co-writer or producer on 11 of the album 's 16 songs .
Bon Iver 's Justin Vernon crops up for a duet on Exile - a delicate ballad that paints a failing relationship as a territorial war - while the cast list is completed by Swift 's frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff , who she says `` is basically musical family at this point '' .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Epiphany - whose second verse is a tribute to health workers working under pressure in times of crisis .
`` Something med school did not cover , '' sings Swift , over sustained minor key chords .
`` Someone 's daughter , someone 's mother / Holds your hand through plastic now / 'Doc , I think she 's crashing out ' . ''
But her gaze is also turned inwards .
These are songs about childhood adventures and teenage feuds .
There affectionate portraits of ex-lovers and - naturally - a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tears Ricochet , she even imagines her own funeral , and how her detractors will feel when she 's gone .
`` If I 'm dead to you why are you at the wake ?
/ Cursing my name / Wishing I 'd stayed , '' she sings , more with resignation than anger .
The most upbeat song , The Last Great American Dynasty , tells the story of the eccentric socialite and patron of the arts , Rebekah Harkness .
At one time the richest woman in America , she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filling her fish tank with Scotch .
She once turned up at JD Salinger 's house , dressed as a cleaner , convinced she could persuade the reclusive author to set his stories to music .
As Swift sings it , she also stole her neighbour 's dog in the midst of a feud and dyed its fur lime green .
Oh , and Swift now lives in her former mansion in Rhode Island .
You get the impression she 'd secretly like to adopt her predecessor 's cavalier attitude to public perception @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the public vilification she received after her public spat with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West , and wonders what it 'd have been like if she 'd really let rip : `` Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht , '' she sings .
`` They say 'move on ' / But you know I wo n't . ''
Being Swift , however , the anger and heartbreak are tempered with romance .
She frequently sings of escape , to the Lakes , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arms .
But this is a more subdued singer than we 've met before - and she 's hit on a rich seam of melancholy that chimes perfectly with the times .
Follow us on Facebook , or on Twitter @ BBCNewsEnts .
If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news @ bbc.co.uk .

On Mad Woman, she examines the public vilification she received after her public spat with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and wonders what it'd have been like if she'd really let rip: "Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht," she sings. "They say 'move on' / But you know I won't."


bbc--2020-07-24--US, Mexican & Brazilian Grands Prix cancelled, Imola set to return

Last updated on .From the section Formula 1 Formula 1 has abandoned hope of holding the US , Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix this year as a result of the coronavirus situation in the Americas .
Instead , three further races in Europe are to be added to the calendar .
These will see a return for Germany 's Nurburgring and Imola in Italy , and an F1 debut for Portugal 's Portimao track .
The US Grand Prix in Austin , Texas , had been due to be held on 23 October , with the Mexican race in Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13 November .
But with infections soaring in all three countries , F1 officials have accepted that it will be impossible to hold the races .
• None Coronavirus : What are the numbers out of Latin America ?
Any hopes of reviving the Canadian race , originally scheduled for June and postponed in April , have also been abandoned .
The coronavirus has a much lower prevalence in Canada , but the country has local restrictions and travel rules that make impossible to hold a race .
The grand prix at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2013 , is expected to be held on 11 October , when it will be vulnerable to bad weather .
The date is the latest in the year a grand prix has ever been held on the historic track in the Eifel mountains , where snow has been known to fall even in the summer , and certainly can not be ruled out in October .
Portimao , on the Algarve , would follow on 25 October , with Imola on 1 November .
Imola has long , historic connections with F1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Italian Grand Prix in 1980 and had a permanent home on the calendar as the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006 .
It is also notorious as the track on which Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed on consecutive days in 1994 .
• None Lando Norris helps out his mechanics after Hungarian Grand Prix F1 still does not have a full calendar , but remains hopeful of being able to have at least 16 races this year .
The additional three races at the Nurburgring , Portimao @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13 , and the season is expected to conclude with two races in Bahrain and one in Abu Dhabi in November and December .
In addition , F1 is working on holding one or two races in Asia in early to mid-November .
The new street circuit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi , which had been due to make its debut as an F1 venue in April , is almost certain to hold a race , and there is a possibility of a return to Malaysia 's Sepang track , which held a @ @ @ @ @

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2019
Formula 1 has called off the US, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix this year as a result of the coronavirus crisis in the Americas.
With infection rates rising in the three countries, F1 bosses believe it would be irresponsible to hold races there.
Instead, three further races in Europe are to be added to the calendar.
These will see a return for Germany's Nurburgring and Imola in Italy, and an F1 debut for Portugal's Portimao track.
The US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, had been due to be held on 23 October, with the Mexican race in Mexico City a week later and Brazil on 13 November.
But F1 officials have accepted that it will be impossible to hold the races.
Any hopes of reviving the Canadian race, originally scheduled for June and postponed in April, have also been abandoned.
The coronavirus has a much lower prevalence in Canada, but the country has local restrictions and travel rules that make impossible to hold a race.
An F1 statement said: "Due to the fluid nature of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, local restrictions and the importance of keeping communities and our colleagues safe, it will not be possible to race in Brazil, USA, Mexico and Canada this season."
The grand prix at the Nurburgring, which last hosted a race in 2013, will be held on 11 October, when it will be vulnerable to bad weather.
The date is the latest in the year a grand prix has ever been held on the historic track in the Eifel mountains, where snow has been known to fall even in the summer, and certainly cannot be ruled out in October.
Portimao, on the Algarve, will follow on 25 October, with Imola on 1 November. Imola will be a two-day event, meaning there will be no Friday practice.
Imola has long, historic connections with F1. It replaced Monza as the home of the Italian Grand Prix in 1980 and had a permanent home on the calendar as the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006.
It is also notorious as the track on which Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed on consecutive days in 1994.
Portimao is to be one of the first races to allow spectators this year - following the decision of the organisers of the Russian Grand Prix on 23-25 September to sell tickets to the event in Sochi on the Black Sea coast.
F1 still does not have a full calendar, but says it remains hopeful of being able to have "between 15 and 18 races this year and end in the Gulf in mid-December".
The additional three races at the Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola will take the calendar to 13, and the season is expected to conclude with two races in Bahrain and one in Abu Dhabi in November and December.
And F1 is working on one or two races in Asia in early to mid-November.
The new street circuit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, which had been due to make its debut as an F1 venue in April, is expected to hold a race, and there is a possibility of a return to Malaysia's Sepang track, which held a grand prix from 1999-2017.


bbc--2020-07-24--Premier League quiz: Can you name every team to be relegated?

Sunday is the final day of the season in the English top flight , with Bournemouth hoping not to become @ @ @ @ @ relegated in the Premier League era .
Can you name the other 41 teams who @ @ @ @ @ once since 1992-93 ?
You have five minutes .

Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Sunday is the final day of the season in the English top flight, with Bournemouth hoping not to become the 42nd team to be relegated in the Premier League era.
Can you name the other 41 teams who have dropped out at least once since 1992-93? You have five minutes.


bbc--2020-07-24--Women's Open: Brittany Lincicome's 'heart breaks' to not be playing at Royal Troon

American two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome says her `` heart breaks '' to not be playing at this year 's Women 's Open .
The event , formerly known as the Women 's British Open , will take place from 20-23 August .
`` I 'm so bummed , my heart breaks not to go , '' she told BBC World Service Sport .
`` This is my 16th year I think on tour and I 'm not sure I 've ever missed the British Open which is a huge event , it 's one that I never want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight wins on the LPGA Tour - has a one-year-old daughter , Emery , and says she does not feel safe flying internationally with her baby .
`` Just to not be on the charter [ flight ] and have to fly commercially with all the other passengers , with Emery it just did n't seem safe , '' she said .
`` I just did n't feel comfortable .
`` We 're just going to stick with domestic events definitely in the beginning , and then see where we go from there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missing that event . ''
The LPGA Tour will resume next week with back-to-back events in Ohio , starting with the new three-day Drive On Championship from 31 July , before the Marathon LPGA Classic starts on 6 August .
The Drive On Championship will take place at the Inverness Club , the venue for next year 's Solheim Cup .
`` I think nobody envisioned us here in July getting ready for really our start of the season , '' said Lincicome , who has been nursing a thumb injury for which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going to be so new to all of us and it 's going to be really interesting to see who can step back up quickly .
`` I 'm super excited , when our commissioner Mike Whan told us about this new event that was thrown together really quick at Inverness , it 's such a beautiful golf club and we 're so lucky to be able to play there .
`` It will be a great preview for us to get to see it a little bit and feel it out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us and to throw this event together is really spectacular . ''

Lincicome is a two-time winner of the ANA Inspiration major
American two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome says her "heart breaks" to not be playing at this year's Women's Open.
Lincicome, 34, has chosen not to play at the event at Royal Troon because of health and safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, formerly known as the Women's British Open, will take place from 20-23 August.
"I'm so bummed, my heart breaks not to go," she told BBC World Service Sport.
"This is my 16th year I think on tour and I'm not sure I've ever missed the British Open which is a huge event, it's one that I never want to miss."
Lincicome - who has eight wins on the LPGA Tour - has a one-year-old daughter, Emery, and says she does not feel safe flying internationally with her baby.
"Just to not be on the charter [flight] and have to fly commercially with all the other passengers, with Emery it just didn't seem safe," she said. "I just didn't feel comfortable.
"We're just going to stick with domestic events definitely in the beginning, and then see where we go from there but I am so bummed to be missing that event."
The LPGA Tour will resume next week with back-to-back events in Ohio, starting with the new three-day Drive On Championship from 31 July, before the Marathon LPGA Classic starts on 6 August.
The Drive On Championship will take place at the Inverness Club, the venue for next year's Solheim Cup.
"I think nobody envisioned us here in July getting ready for really our start of the season," said Lincicome, who has been nursing a thumb injury for which she made need surgery.
"Competition is going to be so new to all of us and it's going to be really interesting to see who can step back up quickly.
"I'm super excited, when our commissioner Mike Whan told us about this new event that was thrown together really quick at Inverness, it's such a beautiful golf club and we're so lucky to be able to play there.
"It will be a great preview for us to get to see it a little bit and feel it out early, but for them to have us and to throw this event together is really spectacular."


bbc--2020-07-24--'We can't keep doing this' - how artists responded to the bulldozed Kaepernick mural

When an iconic mural of Colin Kaepernick was bulldozed on the first day of Black History Month in February 2019 , local artists came together and worked tirelessly to paint his image across Atlanta .
You will find Williams ' work across Atlanta - from 60ft murals of iconic figures such as civil rights activists Hosea Williams , Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X , to boxing legend Muhammad Ali and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaepernick , who Williams describes as a civil rights icon .
With Atlanta considered the beating heart of black culture in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the most influential black activists throughout history there .
Describing the city , Grammy-winning artist Jermaine Dupri said : `` This is Wakanda . ''
BBC Sport met Williams more than a year ago , before the bulldozing , and spent the day filming with him across the city , including in a quiet part of town where the Kaepernick mural stood and had become something of a local landmark .
`` I was driving past a few days after we 'd filmed with you and I saw bulldozers tearing it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The legs were still up but the wall was gone .
It was shocking .
It took a minute to register .
`` This was the first day of Black History Month in America .
You mean to tell me you 're tearing down the building with Colin Kaepernick , who is protesting against police brutality and systemic racism , on this day ? ''
`` To me , art is communication .
So when you destroy a piece of work on a certain day , you are communicating how you feel about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , about that person .
`` That 's how everybody took it .
I was like : 'They 're obviously talking to us - they 're talking to black America . '
'' Williams met the owner of the building , who said he had been put under pressure to demolish it .
He also discovered the building was on the route NFL teams would regularly take to the Atlanta Falcons ' stadium , and believes the pressure came from a higher power .
`` They said the building was a hazard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` But they left the debris there for 30 days , in a community with plenty of children .
It defied the city 's demolition code and , as far as I know , nothing ever happened .
That takes power .
`` I was just surprised that they went there .
They could have just painted over it .
They wanted to destroy that building and there is nothing there to this day but a slab . ''
Ash Nash , who was managing Williams at the time , wanted to respond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city , which is where the idea for the KaeperBowl came from .
`` He [ Williams ] was just like : 'The building 's gone , the building 's gone .
There 's bulldozers stomping on it , ' '' said Nash , founder of Atlanta-based Power Haus Creative .
`` The community kept reaching out like : 'What are you going to do ? '
That mural was a staple in the community and people related to it for so many things like social justice .
`` I really wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Super Bowl Sunday , KaeperBowl had seven notable street artists , led by Williams , from across Atlanta , using their unique styles to paint eight Kaepernick murals across the city over the course of three days .
Nash worked tirelessly for 72 hours to organise the event , from gaining permission from building owners to arranging supplies .
The average mural can cost anywhere between $ 7,000 and $ 70,000 ( £5,000-£55,000 ) .
`` I got up around 1am [ on Super Bowl Sunday ] and wanted to get a head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bar on the level of art I expected , so I worked till around 5am , '' Williams says .
`` I wanted something to motivate people as there was a lot of pressure on us .
When people woke up that first morning and saw the first mural , it put a fire under people and that 's what made them really get involved .
`` It was something that just felt right .
It felt like this was the proper response .
It was beautiful and the whole city came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were waiting on somebody or something to activate . ''
Kaepernick 's team got in touch with Nash and Williams and invited them to his Know Your Rights camp alongside activists such as Benjamin Crump ( lawyer to Trayvon Martin , who was shot dead in 2012 ) , Malcolm X 's daughter , Attallah Shabazz , and more than 500 underprivileged youths .
`` One of the things I said was : 'Do you know who you are to people ?
Do you know the weight of what you 're doing ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of , but I 'm learning , ' '' says Williams .
`` He really cares about the people he represents and the struggle he 's taken on by uplifting people through challenging the morality of what we 're doing as a nation , and it 's working . ''
With the KaeperBowl raising more than $ 10,000 ( £7,934 ) in just two days , Williams was able to create Bloom , a non-profit organisation which aims to improve underprivileged areas of the city by providing sustainable food sources .
`` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of these communities are left to starve and we 're looking at food like an area of independence , '' he says .
`` If the city 's not going to step in and make sure these people are helped , we 've got to do it .
It 's not like it takes a lot of money or time , you just need to actually care . ''

Super Bowl 53: Why Atlanta artist Occasional Superstar paints murals of Colin Kaepernick
When an iconic mural of Colin Kaepernick was bulldozed on the first day of Black History Month in February 2019, local artists came together and worked tirelessly to paint his image across Atlanta.
"We can't keep doing this," artist Fabian Williams says. "I'm ready for new problems. I know that black lives are valuable and all lives are valuable, but let's put it in the books and move on."
You will find Williams' work across Atlanta - from 60ft murals of iconic figures such as civil rights activists Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, to boxing legend Muhammad Ali and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaepernick, who Williams describes as a civil rights icon.
With Atlanta considered the beating heart of black culture in the United States, it seems fitting to showcase some of the most influential black activists throughout history there. Describing the city, Grammy-winning artist Jermaine Dupri said: "This is Wakanda."
Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the US national anthem in 2016 in protest against racial injustice
BBC Sport met Williams more than a year ago, before the bulldozing, and spent the day filming with him across the city, including in a quiet part of town where the Kaepernick mural stood and had become something of a local landmark.
"I was driving past a few days after we'd filmed with you and I saw bulldozers tearing it down," Williams says. "The legs were still up but the wall was gone. It was shocking. It took a minute to register.
"This was the first day of Black History Month in America. You mean to tell me you're tearing down the building with Colin Kaepernick, who is protesting against police brutality and systemic racism, on this day?"
"To me, art is communication. So when you destroy a piece of work on a certain day, you are communicating how you feel about that work, about that subject matter, about that person.
"That's how everybody took it. I was like: 'They're obviously talking to us - they're talking to black America.'"
Williams painted the mural, which showed Kaepernick in an Atlanta Falcons uniform, on an abandoned building in 2017
Williams met the owner of the building, who said he had been put under pressure to demolish it.
He also discovered the building was on the route NFL teams would regularly take to the Atlanta Falcons' stadium, and believes the pressure came from a higher power.
"They said the building was a hazard to the community," Williams says. "But they left the debris there for 30 days, in a community with plenty of children. It defied the city's demolition code and, as far as I know, nothing ever happened. That takes power.
"I was just surprised that they went there. They could have just painted over it. They wanted to destroy that building and there is nothing there to this day but a slab."
The woman with a plan
Ash Nash, who was managing Williams at the time, wanted to respond to the strength of feeling in the city, which is where the idea for the KaeperBowl came from.
"He [Williams] was just like: 'The building's gone, the building's gone. There's bulldozers stomping on it,'" said Nash, founder of Atlanta-based Power Haus Creative.
"The community kept reaching out like: 'What are you going to do?' That mural was a staple in the community and people related to it for so many things like social justice.
"I really wanted to make some noise."
"It was beautiful and the whole city came out to support it, like they were waiting on somebody or something to activate"
Planned for Super Bowl Sunday, KaeperBowl had seven notable street artists, led by Williams, from across Atlanta, using their unique styles to paint eight Kaepernick murals across the city over the course of three days.
Nash worked tirelessly for 72 hours to organise the event, from gaining permission from building owners to arranging supplies. The average mural can cost anywhere between $7,000 and $70,000 (£5,000-£55,000).
"I got up around 1am [on Super Bowl Sunday] and wanted to get a head start on everybody so I could set the bar on the level of art I expected, so I worked till around 5am," Williams says.
"I wanted something to motivate people as there was a lot of pressure on us. When people woke up that first morning and saw the first mural, it put a fire under people and that's what made them really get involved.
"It was something that just felt right. It felt like this was the proper response. It was beautiful and the whole city came out to support it, like they were waiting on somebody or something to activate."
Williams along with seven notable artists painted Kaepernick's image across the city
Meeting Colin Kaepernick
Kaepernick's team got in touch with Nash and Williams and invited them to his Know Your Rights camp alongside activists such as Benjamin Crump (lawyer to Trayvon Martin, who was shot dead in 2012), Malcolm X's daughter, Attallah Shabazz, and more than 500 underprivileged youths.
"One of the things I said was: 'Do you know who you are to people? Do you know the weight of what you're doing?' And he was like: 'Kind of, but I'm learning,'" says Williams.
"He really cares about the people he represents and the struggle he's taken on by uplifting people through challenging the morality of what we're doing as a nation, and it's working."
With the KaeperBowl raising more than $10,000 (£7,934) in just two days, Williams was able to create Bloom, a non-profit organisation which aims to improve underprivileged areas of the city by providing sustainable food sources.
"We're making mini-systems of self-governance because a lot of these communities are left to starve and we're looking at food like an area of independence," he says.
"If the city's not going to step in and make sure these people are helped, we've got to do it. It's not like it takes a lot of money or time, you just need to actually care."
"He's a humble dude" - Williams meets Kaepernick's at the Know Your Rights camp


bbc--2020-07-25--Singapore man admits being Chinese spy in US

A Singaporean man has pleaded guilty in the US to working as an agent of China , the latest incident in a growing stand-off between Washington and Beijing .
Jun Wei Yeo was charged with using his political consultancy in America as a front to collect information for Chinese intelligence , US officials say .
Separately , the US said a Chinese researcher accused of hiding her ties to China 's military was detained .
China earlier ordered the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu .
The move to shut down the diplomatic mission in the south-western city was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's consulate in Houston .
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the decision was taken because China was `` stealing '' intellectual property .
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded by saying that the US move was based on `` a hodgepodge of anti-Chinese lies '' .
Tensions have been rising between the two nuclear powers over several key issues .
• Why US-China relations are at their lowest point in decades • The US-China battle behind the scenes • What 's behind Trump 's new strategy on China ?
President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Beijing over trade and the coronavirus pandemic , as well as China 's imposition of a controversial new security law in Hong Kong .
What is known about the Singaporean national ?
Jun Wei Yeo , also known as Dickson Yeo , on Friday pleaded guilty in a federal court to working as an illegal agent of the Chinese government in 2015-19 , the US Department of Justice said in a statement .
He was earlier charged with using his political consultancy in the country as a front to collect valuable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his guilty plea , he admitted to scouting for Americans with high-level security clearance and getting them to write reports for fake clients .
Mr Yeo was arrested as he flew in to the US in 2019 .
And what about the arrested Chinese researcher ?
The researcher was named by US officials as Juan Tang , aged 37 .
She was among four Chinese nationals charged earlier this week with visa fraud for allegedly lying about serving in China 's People 's Liberations Army .
Juan Tang was the last of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the US had accused the Chinese consulate in San Francisco of harbouring her .
It was not immediately clear how she was arrested .
FBI agents have found pictures of Juan Tang dressed in military uniform and reviewed articles in China identifying her military affiliation , the Associated Press reports .
It is quoting the University of California Davis as saying that she left her job as a visiting researcher in the Department of Radiation Oncology in June .
Why is there tension between China and the US ?
There are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials have blamed China for the global spread of Covid-19 .
More specifically , President Donald Trump has alleged , without evidence , that the virus originated from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan .
And , in unsubstantiated remarks , a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in March that the US military might have brought the virus to Wuhan .
The US and China have also been locked in a tariff war since 2018 .
Mr Trump has long accused China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft , but in Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is trying to curb its rise as a global economic power .
The US has also imposed sanctions on Chinese politicians who it says are responsible for human rights violations against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang .
China is accused of mass detentions , religious persecution and forced sterilisation of Uighurs and others .
Beijing denies the allegations and has accused the US of `` gross interference '' in its domestic affairs .
China 's imposition of a sweeping security law there is also a source of tension in relations with the US and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until 1997 .
In response , the US last week revoked Hong Kong 's special trading status , which allowed it to avoid tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the US .
• China 's new law : Why is Hong Kong worried ?
The US and UK see the security law as a threat to the freedoms Hong Kong has enjoyed under a 1984 agreement between China and the UK - before sovereignty reverted to Beijing .
The UK has angered China by outlining a route to UK citizenship for nearly three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by threatening to stop recognising a type of British passport - BNO - held by many of those living in Hong Kong .

After a 72-hour deadline for Chinese diplomats to leave the Houston consulate expired on Friday at 16:00 (21:00 GMT) reporters saw men who appeared to be US officials force open a door to enter the premises. Uniformed staff from the US State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security took up position to guard the entrance.


bbc--2020-07-24--Christopher Columbus statues temporarily removed in Chicago

Two statues of Christopher Columbus have been temporarily removed in Chicago .
It comes a week after protesters attempted to topple a statue of the Italian explorer in the city .
Although temporary , they are the latest monuments to be removed amid an ongoing backlash against perceived symbols of racial bias and imperialism in the US .
The movement has been sparked by the death in police custody of African American George Floyd .
His death in Minneapolis has led to protests in the US and internationally against police brutality and racial inequality .
The office of Chicago Mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Columbus statues - in Grant Park and Arrigo Park - had been `` temporarily removed ... until further notice '' on her orders .
The decision came after protesters clashed with police as they attempted topple the statue of the explorer in Grant Park last week .
• Black Lives Matter Protests : Why are statues so powerful ?
• Columbus and Confederate statues torn down in US • Should Washington and Jefferson monuments come down ?
`` It feels great seeing the statue come down , '' resident Brenda Armenta told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removal of the Grant Park monument on Friday morning .
There had been heated confrontations between protesters and supporters of the statue hours before .
In June a 3m ( 10ft ) bronze statue of Columbus was toppled in Saint Paul , Minnesota , while another in Boston , which stands on a plinth at the heart of town , was beheaded .
Many people in the US celebrate the memory of the explorer , who in many textbooks is credited with discovering `` the New World '' in the 15th Century .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ long objected to honouring Columbus , saying his expeditions led to the colonisation and genocide of their ancestors .

Many people in the US celebrate the memory of the explorer, who in many textbooks is credited with discovering "the New World" in the 15th Century.


bbc--2020-07-24--Genetic impact of African slave trade revealed in DNA study

A major DNA study has shed new light on the fate of millions of Africans who were traded as slaves to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries .
More than 50,000 people took part in the study , which was able to identify more details of the `` genetic impact '' the trade has had on present-day populations in the Americas .
It lays bare the consequences of rape , maltreatment , disease and racism .
More than 12.5m Africans were traded between 1515 and the mid-19th Century .
Some two million of the enslaved men , women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americas .
The DNA study was led by consumer genetics company 23andMe and included 30,000 people of African ancestry on both sides of the Atlantic .
The findings were published in the American Journal of Human Genetics .
Steven Micheletti , a population geneticist at 23andMe told AFP news agency that the aim was to compare the genetic results with the manifests of slave ships `` to see how they agreed and how they disagree '' .
While much of their findings agreed with historical documentation about where people were taken from in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Americas , `` in some cases , we see that they disagree , quite strikingly '' , he added .
The study found , in line with the major slave route , that most Americans of African descent have roots in territories now located in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo .
What was surprising was the over-representation of Nigerian ancestry in the US and Latin America when compared with the recorded number of enslaved people from that region .
Researchers say this can be explained by the `` intercolonial trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' .
They believe enslaved Nigerians were transported from the British Caribbean to other areas , `` presumably to maintain the slave economy as transatlantic slave-trading was increasingly prohibited '' .
Likewise , the researchers were surprised to find an underrepresentation from Senegal and The Gambia - one of the first regions from where slaves were deported .
Researchers put this down to two grim factors : many were sent to work in rice plantations where malaria and other dangerous conditions were rampant ; and in later years larger numbers of children were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survive the crossing .
In another gruesome discovery , the study found that the treatment of enslaved women across the Americas had had an impact on the modern gene pool .
Researchers said a strong bias towards African female contributions in the gene pool - even though the majority of slaves were male - could be attributed to `` the rape of enslaved African women by slave owners and other sexual exploitation '' .
In Latin America , up to 17 African women for every African man contributed to the gene pool .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a policy of `` branqueamento '' , racial whitening , in a number of countries , which actively encouraged the immigration of European men `` with the intention to dilute African ancestry through reproduction '' .
Although the bias in British colonised America was just two African women to one African man , it was no less exploitative .
The study highlighted the `` practice of coercing enslaved people to having children as a means of maintaining an enslaved workforce nearing the abolition of the transatlantic trade '' .
In the US , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for reproducing and racist policies opposed the mixing of different races , researchers note .
The Black Lives Matter movement has shone a light on the damaging legacy of colonialism and slavery on African Americans and other people of African heritage around the world .
Statues of colonial-era slave traders have been pulled down as protesters demand an end to the glorifying of symbols of slavery .

While much of their findings agreed with historical documentation about where people were taken from in Africa and where they were enslaved in the Americas, "in some cases, we see that they disagree, quite strikingly", he added.


bbc--2020-07-24--Coronavirus: The week when everything changed for Trump

It 's as though in January 2017 , Donald Trump was given a shiny , new car .
The best , most beautiful car the world has ever seen .
And in July 2020 , the president made an important discovery about it .
It was an extra on the car he never thought he 'd need - and certainly never intended to use .
But on Monday , he put the car into reverse , and wrestle as he might with the gearstick and clutch , he now ca n't stop the blasted thing from going backwards .
Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the language used this week by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to describe his Labour opponent - from the president this week there have been more flip-flops than Bournemouth beach .
Just to recap , masks - which the president used to deride as `` politically correct '' - are now an act of patriotism , and should always be worn when social distancing is impossible .
Coronavirus , which until recently was being described in most instances as a bad case of the sniffles , is now something altogether more serious - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before it gets better .
Two weeks ago the president was insisting that all schools had to reopen , or he would take away their funding .
He 's now saying that , for some of the worst hit cities , that would n't be appropriate - and appears much more empathetic towards parents wrestling with the decision about whether to allow their children resume in school education .
• Coronavirus : From 'We 've shut it down ' to 100,000 US dead • Things US has got wrong - and got right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night on the Republican Convention in Jacksonville , Florida .
The president loves a crowd .
A raucous , adoring crowd .
The original plan had been to hold the event in Charlotte , North Carolina .
But when the governor of that state said there would have to be social distancing , the president went ballistic , went after the governor , and announced huffily that the Republicans would go somewhere else .
Jacksonville would be the venue for the tickertape and hoopla , and thousands of cheering and whooping Republicans .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was a stunning and painful reverse , and one the president made with the heaviest of hearts .
The announcements have come on three consecutive nights of revitalised White House coronavirus briefings .
In this iteration with the president flying solo , and not flanked by his medical advisers .
But they have also been much more disciplined than when the president would spend a couple of hours at the lectern , musing on anything and everything - most memorably on whether disinfectant and sunlight should be injected into the body to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memorable briefing with the president , and I was back again for his briefing this Wednesday .
This time around he was in and out in less than half an hour , stuck to the messages he wanted to deliver ( OK , no-one had anticipated the bizarre foray into the legal difficulties facing Ghislaine Maxwell ) , and answered a handful of questions .
He did n't get riled .
He did n't get into fights .
He did what he came to do .
And then off .
All I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like as much fun as Season 1 - though the episodes are much shorter .
I sat discussing this one evening this week in the garden of someone closely involved in the doings of the administration .
It was an insufferably humid evening and the thunder rolled around the city .
We spent a time discussing the psychology of the president ( yes , a common topic ) .
And this person was making the point that he has an old-fashioned macho need never to appear weak .
Even though he knows at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground and concede , that is unconscionable .
But if we are still playing pop psychology with the president 's brain - whose cognitive strengths we now all know : person , man , woman , camera , TV - there is one thing worse than being weak , and that is being a loser .
And though in public - for fear of looking weak - the president insists his campaign is winning , and the American people love him , and polls that show him sinking underwater are fake news , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Let 's just take Florida , where Trump was to have made his Convention acceptance speech .
It is the epicentre at the moment of the appalling surge in coronavirus cases .
With its population of 21 million , last week it was diagnosing more new cases per day than the whole of the European Union ( population 460 million ) .
But Florida is also ground zero for US presidential elections .
Just think Bush versus Gore in 2000 .
• How did Florida get so badly hit by Covid-19 ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 .
It was a state he thought he would breeze in November .
But the latest Quinnipiac University poll has Democratic nominee Joe Biden 13 points ahead .
Thirteen .
That is massive .
And there is a whole pile of other key swing states which show President Trump lagging behind .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• CONTACT TRACING : 'He asked me : Am I going to die ?
’ • MEETING FRIENDS : How can I do that safely ?
• ELDERLY TOLL : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US care homes ?
• SUPERSPREADERS : What makes some events so risky ?
What has n't changed in the past week is the science .
You can be sure that his long-suffering public health advisors have been banging on about the same things like a broken gramophone .
Masks , distancing , avoiding crowds .
It may be that the president has had a Damascene conversion to listening to his doctors .
Possible , but I have to say unlikely .
If we 're looking for a significant `` thing '' it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fired his 2020 campaign manager , Brad Parscale , and installed a new one .
And it appears Bill Stepien has sat the president down and given him the ice cold bucket of water .
That the polls are awful , and going in the wrong direction ; that all is not lost but quickly could spin out of control .
That a change of direction and tone is urgently needed .
Particularly when it comes to anything and everything to do with Covid-19 .
It is worth inserting one proviso here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ although he gets very good reviews .
But brilliant though he maybe , there is a bit of a pattern of the president making a new appointment , and then for the next two or three weeks he does what he is told - but then reverts to going with his gut ; going with his instinct .
The things that he will tell you have served him best throughout his long and colourful career .
But we are in new territory .
For three and a half years the president has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bend and fashion facts to suit his own narrative .
The coronavirus has been unimpressed by his efforts .
This has been a foe like none that Donald Trump has faced .
And he has had to bend to its will .
Not the other way round .
What has happened this week is that what the polls are showing and what his scientists have been repeatedly calling for are totally aligned .
And he really does n't want to be a loser in November .
The spectre of these 180s has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The man who only knows how to double down , now doubled up in the pain of these very public reverses .
Oh happy days .
But they should be more cautious .
The conversion may be insincere ; may well be borne of polling necessity - but what a lot of Americans will see is their president behaving rationally and normally ; making decisions consistent with the scale of the threat the American people are facing - and Americans are fearing .
But , I hear you say , surely they wo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president said in March and April when he played the pandemic down and urged the reopening of the US economy prematurely ?
Well , all I would say is that the circus moves on quickly ; everyone seems to have incredibly short memories .
Who talks any more about Mueller ?
Or Russia ?
Or impeachment ?
The beam of the lighthouse does n't stay long in any one place .
With our impatience for new developments , for new story lines , for plot twists , we seem to suffer collectively from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understands that better than anyone .
Some will no doubt write that this has been the president 's worst week ever .
If he wins in November it will come to be seen as his best .

It is worth inserting one proviso here. I don't know Bill Stepien - although he gets very good reviews. But brilliant though he may be, there is a bit of a pattern of the president making a new appointment, and then for the next two or three weeks he does what he is told - but then reverts to going with his gut; going with his instinct. The things that he will tell you have served him best throughout his long and colourful career. But we are in new territory.


bbc--2020-07-24--Viewer spots Florida reporter Victoria Price's cancer growth

A reporter in Florida has thanked a viewer who spotted a cancerous growth on her neck and sent an email urging her to seek treatment .
`` A viewer emailed me last month , '' WFLA reporter Victoria Price posted online on Thursday .
`` She saw a lump on my neck .
Said it reminded her of her own . ''
`` Hers was cancer .
Turns out , mine is too , '' she said , announcing she would be taking time off from work to fight it .
Price said she would undergo surgery on Monday to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Your Side ' is n't just a catchphrase at @ wfla , '' she wrote on Instagram , referring to the station 's call sign number and slogan .
`` It 's our cornerstone .
But the roles recently reversed when I found a viewer on MY side , and I could n't be more grateful . ''
Price said that her work covering the coronavirus outbreak in Tampa had distracted her from caring for her own health .
`` As a journalist , it 's been full throttle since the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news cycle , '' Price wrote , adding : `` We were covering the most important health story in a century , but my own health was the farthest thing from my mind . ''
Doctors told her the tumour was spreading from the centre of her neck and would need to be surgically removed , along with her thyroid and some lymph nodes , she wrote in an article for WFLA .
`` Had I never received that email , I never would have called my doctor .
The cancer would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scary and humbling thought , '' she posted .
`` I will forever be thankful to the woman who went out of her way to email me , a total stranger .
She had zero obligation to , but she did anyway .
Talk about being on your side , huh ? ''
Thyroid cancer is far more common in women than men , Price reported , adding that roughly 75 % of all cases diagnosed in the US this year have been women .
`` So ladies… # CheckYourNeck ! ''
she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to work in a week .
• The TV stars 'saved ' by their viewers This is not the first time that a watchful viewer has given helpful medical advice to a broadcaster .
In 2018 , former Liverpool defender and football pundit Mark Lawrenson thanked a doctor who gave him a cancer diagnosis after watching him on BBC One 's Football Focus .
In 2013 , cable news host Tarek El Moussa was alerted to a lump on his neck by a nurse who had seen him on the home makeover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought it was something that needed to be brought to his attention , '' nurse Ryan Reade told NBC .
El Moussa has now recovered from stage-2 thyroid cancer .

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bbc--2020-07-24--Johnson: UK could have done things differently

Boris Johnson has admitted the government did not understand coronavirus during the `` first few weeks and months '' of the UK outbreak .
The PM told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg there were `` very open questions '' about whether the lockdown had started too late .
Mr Johnson also spoke of `` lessons to be learned '' and said ministers could have done some things `` differently '' .
Labour accused the government of `` mishandling '' the crisis .
More than 45,000 people in the UK have died after testing positive for coronavirus , government figures show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Last week , Mr Johnson promised an `` independent '' inquiry into the pandemic , but no details have been given of its scope or timing .
• How is the PM doing ?
Previously , the prime minister has said he took the `` right decisions at the right time '' , based on the advice of scientists .
But , in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg to mark the first anniversary of his entering Downing Street , he said : `` We did n't understand [ the virus ] in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first few weeks and months .
`` And I think , probably , the single thing that we did n't see at the beginning was the extent to which it was being transmitted asymptomatically from person to person . ''
Mr Johnson wants to use the government 's experience of what happened during the pandemic to speed up his agenda , to `` double down on levelling up '' , as he puts it in his peculiar political jargon .
In other words , to push ahead with more determination , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes that he says will actually improve the lives of voters , particularly those who voted Tory for the first time in 2019 .
While preparing the NHS for a potential second surge , he clearly wants to concentrate on what 's next , not what 's gone before .
But perhaps until the government is really ready to acknowledge what has happened , the questions will continue - and the public may still feel anxious about whether they can really trust ministers to handle a second surge next time round .
Just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boris Johnson 's trademark .
But if the last few months have shown anything , it is that the real challenge of life in power , is that events that can surprise .
The prime minister added : `` I think it 's fair to say that there are things that we need to learn about how we handled it in the early stages ...
There will be plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons of what happened . ''
The UK went into full lockdown in late March , which critics say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr Johnson said : `` Maybe there were things we could have done differently , and of course there will be time to understand what exactly we could have done , or done differently . ''
He added that these were still `` very open questions as far as [ scientists ] are concerned , and there will be a time , obviously , to consider all those issues '' .
On Friday , the government announced that 30 million people in England would be offered a flu vaccine this year , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a surge in coronavirus infections during the autumn and winter .
Mr Johnson said this was in addition to increased testing and tracing and more procurement of personal protective equipment , adding : `` What people really want to focus on now is what are we doing to prepare for the next phase . ''
He said : `` We mourn every one of the of those who lost their lives and our thoughts are very much with their with their families .
And I take full responsibility for everything that government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who was himself placed in intensive care in April after contracting coronavirus , said he would `` very soon '' set out an new measures to deal with obesity , seen as an added risk factor for patients .
In December , Mr Johnson 's Conservative Party pulled off a convincing general election win over Jeremy Corbyn 's Labour , after promising to `` level up '' all parts of the UK .
And , despite the economic damage caused by coronavirus in the past four months or so , the prime minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , hospitals and police , saying his government 's priorities were `` exactly what they always have been except more so .
We 're doubling down . ''
`` The agenda is what it was when I stood on the steps of Downing Street a year ago , but we want to go further and we want to go faster . ''
Mr Johnson reminisced about first entering No 10 as prime minister on 24 July 2019 , saying it `` was very exciting , and everybody seemed to be in a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upbeat '' .
He added that coronavirus had caused many `` difficulties '' since then .
`` Psychologically it 's been an extraordinary time for the country , '' Mr Johnson said , '' But I also know that this is a nation with incredible natural resilience , and fortitude and imagination .
And I think we will bounce back really much stronger than ever before . ''
For Labour , shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said : `` Boris Johnson has finally admitted the government has mishandled its response to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acknowledge the threat of the virus , too slow to enter lockdown and too slow to take this crisis seriously . ''
The threat of a second wave of infections was `` still very real '' , he added , while it was `` imperative the government learns the lessons of its mistakes so we can help to save lives '' .
Acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said an `` immediate '' coronavirus inquiry was `` essential '' , and that the prime minister had shown `` no remorse '' for @ @ @ @ @ @

But, in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg to mark the first anniversary of his entering Downing Street, he said: "We didn't understand [the virus] in the way that we would have liked in the first few weeks and months.


bbc--2020-07-24--Russia satellite: Kremlin accuses US and UK of 'distorting' truth

Accusations from the US and UK that Russia recently tested anti-satellite weaponry in space are `` distorted '' , Russia 's defence ministry says .
`` Tests carried out [ on 15 July ] did not create a threat for other spacecraft , '' the ministry said , adding that it had not violated international law .
Moscow said earlier that it had been using new technology to perform checks on Russian space equipment .
But the US and UK said they were concerned about the satellite activity .
`` We are concerned by the manner in which Russia tested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projectile with the characteristics of a weapon , '' the head of the UK 's space directorate , Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth , said on Thursday .
It is the first time that the UK has made accusations about Russian test-firing in space , and comes just days after an inquiry said the UK government `` badly underestimated '' the threat posed by Russia .
The US State Department also said it had observed the use by Russia of `` what would appear to be actual in-orbit anti-satellite weaponry '' .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talks on space security in Vienna next week , the first since 2013 .
The talks could be an opportunity to emphasise that `` outer space is not a lawless and ungoverned territory '' , US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation Christopher Ford said .
What has Russia said about its satellite tests ?
In a statement on Friday , Russia 's foreign ministry said that one of the country 's `` inspector '' satellites had `` carried out a check of a Russian spacecraft at close range with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' .
It said the operation `` did not violate any norms or principles of international law '' .
The ministry accused the US and UK of `` again attempting to present the situation in a distorted manner in order to ... justify their steps to deploy weapons in space and achieve funding to that end '' .
`` We consider this latest anti-Russian attack as part of an information campaign initiated by Washington focused on discrediting Russian space activities , '' the statement , quoted by the Interfax news agency , added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's satellite test had resulted in `` valuable information about the technical condition of the object under investigation '' being recorded .
Why are the US and UK concerned ?
In a statement on Thursday , Gen Jay Raymond , who heads US space command , said there was evidence Russia had `` conducted a test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon '' .
`` This is further evidence of Russia 's continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems and [ is ] consistent with the Kremlin 's published military doctrine to employ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assets at risk , '' he said .
US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation , Christopher Ford , accused Moscow of hypocrisy after it said it wanted arms control to be extended to space .
`` Moscow aims to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting its own counter-space programme , '' he said .
The US said the Russian satellite system was the same one it raised concerns about in 2018 and earlier this year , when the US accused it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Air Vice Marshal Smyth added : `` Actions of this kind threaten the peaceful use of space and risk causing debris that could pose a threat to satellites and the space systems on which the world depends . ''
Russia , the UK , the US and China are among more than 100 nations to have committed to a space treaty that stipulates that outer space is to be explored by all and purely for peaceful purposes .
The treaty adds that weapons should not be placed in orbit or in space @


bbc--2020-07-24--Nova Scotia shooting: Victims' families upset over review of Canada shooting

Families of victims of Canada 's deadliest shooting have called a planned review of the April incident `` wholly insufficient '' .
The shooting , where a gunman posing as a police officer went on a rampage across Nova Scotia , left 22 dead .
A three-member panel will review what occurred , the police response and recommend preventative measures .
But many family members are concerned about the limits of the inquiry and say they feel excluded by it .
`` I 'm not really happy .
I really feel that a full inquiry is necessary , '' Charlene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tom Bagley , in the shooting , told the CBC .
`` We all deserve the truth and full transparency and I do n't feel like we 're going to get that . ''
Since the shooting , the families of the victims , as well as conservative and progressive lawmakers , have been calling for a public inquiry into the tragedy .
But concerns were raised in early June when Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey intimated the province , in partnership with the federal government , would take a `` restorative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fully public .
Their fears were confirmed when the review was announced Thursday .
Mr Furey said the review would be `` restorative '' and `` trauma-informed '' .
In a letter , lawyers representing family members in lawsuit against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the gunman 's estate called the review `` wholly insufficient '' .
`` ( Government officials ) have hidden behind their contrived notion of a 'trauma-free ' process to exclude the full participation of the families under the guise of protecting them from further trauma .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be treated , '' the letter said .
Some of the main concerns raised are : • The panel will not be able to compel testimony or subpoena witnesses • Interested parties will not be able to cross-examine the witnesses • The review process will not be fully public : The findings will be made public after they have been presented to the provincial justice minister and the federal minister of public safety ; an interim review will also be made available The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia say the joint independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mass shooting , including `` the causes , context and circumstances giving rise to the incident , the response of police , and steps taken to inform , support and engage victims , families and affected citizens '' .
Access to firearms , police response and communications with the public , as well as gender-based and domestic violence are some of the topics to be reviewed , according to officials .
Both the interim and final reports will be made public .
Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( RCMP ) have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to alert residents of the manhunt for the gunman .
Some family members of victims have questioned whether a provincial alert could have prevented some of the deaths .
More on the Nova Scotia shooting : • Could Canada 's worst mass shooting have been avoided ?
• 'They had no idea the hell they were going to face' Police have defended the lack of an alert , saying they were preparing one when the suspect was shot and killed , and that officials were trying to process fast-moving information .
The victims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a pregnant healthcare worker and a veteran RCMP officer .

"(Government officials) have hidden behind their contrived notion of a 'trauma-free' process to exclude the full participation of the families under the guise of protecting them from further trauma. This is not how the families wish to be treated," the letter said.