Author: CensorBiz

The Italian Coast Guard has released video of a team of divers who successfully freed a ten-meter long sperm whale that had become trapped in an illegal fishing net in the Mediterranean Sea, off Italy’s southwestern coast. The coast guard says four biologists working in the area alerted them about the whale after they spotted it struggling in the water about nine kilometers from Salina island.The whale got trapped in large fishing net, which was preventing its tail fin from moving.Coast guard sailors first tried to free the whale from onboard their rescue boat, but the fin was so tangled, several divers had to enter the water to cut the whale loose.Once it was freed the sperm whale slowly started swimming and reached three other whales who were apparently waiting for him not far away.The coast guard said the fishing net was not legal and has been confiscated.The deep-diving sperm whales were once prized by whalers around the world and were hunted to near extinction. After being designated as an endangered species, the whales are making a comeback around the world. 
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A British judge said Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must attend his next court hearing unless he can provide medical evidence to support his absence.Lawyers for Assange said he could not attend the latest hearing on his U.S. extradition case by video link from prison for medical reasons.District Judge Vanessa Baraitser set another hearing date of July 27 and said Assange must appear “unless there is medical evidence” to explain his non-attendance.  The 48-year-old Australian has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password, hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Last week the U.S. Justice Department added a new, superseding, indictment that alleges Assange conspired with members of hacking organizations and sought to recruit hackers to provide WikiLeaks with classified information. The indictment does not add any new charges, but broadens the allegations against Assange.Assange was arrested last year after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had sought refuge to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault.  He is in London’s Belmarsh Prison awaiting a full extradition hearing, which has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Originally due to begin in May, it is now scheduled to start on Sept. 7. 
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A massive dust cloud that originated in Africa’s Sahara desert has arrived in the coastal towns and beach resorts of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.The Sahara dust cloud traveled three thousands of kilometers from North Africa before reaching the Caribbean and now Mexico.Antonio Ladino, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Atmospheric Sciences Center is urging people to wear face masks to prevent nose and throat irritations. He also said high concentrations of dust ingested can be very dangerous.Weather experts say the heavy dust will hover over Mexico and the southeastern United States, including Florida until the middle of next week.The presence of the dust cloud in Florida could be especially problematic because the state is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.  People with preexisting conditions, who are already urged to restrict travel because of the coronavirus, are encouraged to avoid outdoor activities when the dust turns the skies hazy.Health authorities say the dust can be especially harmful to people with respiratory and heart illnesses. 
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The governor of a southern Italian region insisted on Friday that seasonal Bulgarian crop pickers who live in an apartment complex with dozens of COVID-19 cases must stay inside for 15 days, not even emerging for food.  
Wearing a mask to discourage virus spread, Campania Gov. Vincenzo De Luca told reporters that the national civil protection agency should deliver groceries to the estimated 700 occupants of the apartments in Mondragone, a seaside town about 50 kilometers (32 miles) northwest of Naples.
The complex must be kept in “rigorous isolation,” De Luca said. That means that for 15 days, “nobody leaves and nobody enters” the apartments, where some 50 cases have been confirmed.
The south has been spared the high numbers of coronavirus cases that have ravaged northern Italy.
Known for his particularly hard line on anti-contagion measures throughout the nationwide coronavirus outbreak this year, De Luca has vowed to lock down all of Mondragone, population 30,000, if the number of cases at the hot spot reach 100.  
“Have I been clear? I’m used to speaking clearly,” De Luca told RAI state TV.
The apartment complex was put under lockdown earlier in the week, and all of its residents were ordered to be tested for the virus, after a handful of cases surfaced.
The Campania region has requested police reinforcements to impose the quarantine on the complex. De Luca said the Interior Ministry had authorized an army contingent.
The apartment residents have balked at staying indoors in these hot, steamy summer days. Tensions flared on Thursday, with Italians in the streets jeering at the Bulgarian residents of the apartment complex.  
The Bulgarians are currently harvesting string beans and other vegetables at farms near Mondragone.
During the pandemic, Campania has registered some 4,660 COVID-19 cases and 431 deaths, a small fraction of the nationwide cases and deaths.
In Italy’s north, in the area of Bologna, another outbreak triggered concern by health authorities. Italian news reports said 64 workers at courier services, most of them with one company, have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. So far, 370 people, including the delivery workers and their families, have been tested. Nearly all of the positive cases are without symptoms and only two have been hospitalized, Corriere della Sera daily reported. 
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Unilever will drop the word “fair” from its “Fair & Lovely” skin lightening products, it said on Thursday, in the latest makeover of a brand in response to a global backlash against racial prejudice.Skin lightening cosmetics have a huge market in South Asia, but their promotion is being questioned, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson said it would stop selling skin-whitening creams in Asia and the Middle East, while PepsiCo said it would change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup.Unilever’s “Fair & Lovely” brand dominates the market in South Asia. Similar products are also sold by L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble (P&G).”We recognize that the use of the words ‘fair,’ ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this,” said Sunny Jain, president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division.In India, the biggest market for “Fair & Lovely,” fairness products have long been endorsed by leading Bollywood celebrities, as well as other youth icons.Advertisements have regularly featured two faces showing skin tone transformation, as well as shade guides to show “improvement.”Unilever’s India unit, in which the company owns a 67 percent stake, said it had shifted from such marketing in 2019 and would continue to evolve it to feature women of different skin tones.Several users on Twitter applauded the move, though some said it was too little, too late.”This is a big win, but it’s only the beginning,” Nina Davuluri, who in 2014 became the first Indian American to be crowned Miss America, told Reuters.”While Unilever removing words such as ‘fair, white, & lightening,’ and changing the … brand name is a step towards inclusion, it’s only one piece of a much larger fight to end colorism.”Davuluri on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Unilever CEO Alan Jope, urging him to stop production of the products.The name change is subject to regulatory approvals, Unilever’s India unit, Hindustan Unilever, said. It declined to say what the new name would be.Public records indicate Hindustan Unilever last week filed an application to trademark a logo for soaps, creams, shampoos and other products under the brand name “Glow & Lovely.”In 2018, the company also registered trademarks to market skincare and hair care products under the brand names “Even & Lovely,” “Always Lovely,” “Care & Lovely” and “I Am Lovely,” among others.Separately, a source at L’Oréal in India said the French company was also having discussions in view of the backlash.L’Oréal India declined to comment. L’Oréal in France did not respond to an e-mail seeking immediate comment.P&G declined to comment. 
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The Colorado governor on Thursday ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him on the street in suburban Denver last year because he was “being suspicious.”Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order directing state Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate and possibly prosecute the three white officers previously cleared in McClain’s death. McClain’s name has become a rallying cry during the national reckoning over racism and police brutality following the deaths of George Floyd and others.“Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern,” Polis said in a statement.He said he had spoken with McClain’s mother and was moved by her description of her son as a “responsible and curious child … who could inspire the darkest soul.”Police in Aurora responded to a call about a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms as he walked down a street on August 24. Police body-camera video shows an officer getting out of his car, approaching McClain and saying, “Stop right there. Stop. Stop. … I have a right to stop you because you’re being suspicious.”Police say McClain refused to stop walking and fought back when officers confronted him and tried to take him into custody.In the video, the officer turns McClain around and repeats, “Stop tensing up.” As McClain tries to escape the officer’s grip, the officer says, “Relax, or I’m going to have to change this situation.”As other officers join to restrain McClain, he begs them to let go and says, “You guys started to arrest me, and I was stopping my music to listen.”One of the officers put him in a chokehold that cuts off blood to the brain, something that has been banned in several places in the wake of Floyd’s death May 25 while in the custody of Minneapolis police and the global protests that followed.In the video, McClain tells officers: “Let go of me. I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking.” Those words have appeared on scores of social media posts demanding justice for McClain.He was on the ground for 15 minutes as several officers and paramedics stood by. Paramedics gave him 500 milligrams of the sedative ketamine to calm him down, and he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital. McClain was declared brain dead August 27 and was taken off life support three days later.A forensic pathologist could not determine what exactly led to his death but said physical exertion during the confrontation likely contributed.McClain’s younger sister, Samara McClain, told The Denver Post shortly after his death that her brother was walking to a corner store to get tea for a cousin and often wore masks when he was outside because he had a blood condition that caused him to get cold easily.In the video, Elijah McClain sobs as he repeatedly tells officers, “I’m just different.” Samara McClain said her brother was a massage therapist who planned to go to college.The Police Department put the three officers on leave, but they returned to the force when District Attorney Dave Young said there was insufficient evidence to support charging them.“Ultimately, while I may share the vast public opinion that Elijah McClain’s death could have been avoided, it is not my role to file criminal charges based on opinion, but rather, on the evidence revealed from the investigation and applicable Colorado law,” Young said shortly before Polis ordered the investigation reopened.Aurora police said interim Police Chief Vanessa Wilson won’t comment to avoid interfering with the investigation.Mari Newman, the McClain family’s attorney, said she was pleased with the governor’s decision.“Clearly, Aurora has no intention of taking responsibility for murdering an innocent young man,” she said. “Its entire effort is to defend its brutality at all costs, and to lie to the public it is supposed to serve. It is time for a responsible adult to step in.”Colorado’s attorney general said in a statement that the investigation will be thorough and “worthy of public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system.” 
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Nearly 100 Rohingya asylum-seekers stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore Thursday by locals angered at the refusal of authorities to give them shelter over coronavirus fears.Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority — including 30 children — were reportedly plucked from a rickety wooden boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore.But officials in Lhokseumawe city on Sumatra’s northern coast refused to allow the group to land, citing coronavirus concerns.Angry locals took matters into their own hands Thursday by jumping into boats which they used to pull the asylum seekers to shore.Residents gathered on a local beach cheered the move, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.”It’s purely for humanitarian reasons,” said fisherman Aples Kuari.”We were sad seeing kids and pregnant women stranded at sea,” he added.Earlier Thursday, local police chief Eko Hartanto said they wanted to send the Rohingya back to sea rather than give them temporary shelter.But authorities appeared to soften that stance in the face of local protests, and the weary group are now temporarily being put up in private residences.The Rohingya would be checked by medical staff to ensure they were virus-free, according to Aceh’s rescue agency.Amnesty International praised the spirit of the rescue.”Today’s disembarkation of Rohingya refugees is a moment of optimism and solidarity,” said Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid in a statement.”It’s a credit to the community in Aceh who pushed hard and took risks so that these children, women and men could be brought to shore. They have shown the best of humanity.”Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia are favored destinations for Muslim Rohingya fleeing persecution and violence in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, with thousands trying a perilous escape via smugglers across the sea every year.Muslim-majority Indonesia has previously allowed Rohingya refugees to land and allowed many to stay.But their plight has been compounded in recent months as officials have turned them away over concern they could be harboring the deadly coronavirus.Around a million Rohingya live in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, where human traffickers also run lucrative operations promising to find them sanctuary abroad.On Wednesday, a coastguard official in Malaysia said dozens of Rohingya were believed to have died during a four-month boat journey to that Muslim-majority nation.There had been more than 300 people on board the boat which was intercepted by authorities earlier this month, with 269 survivors given temporary shelter.”Some of them died at sea. They were thrown overboard,” Zubil told reporters, without specifying the exact number.Zubil said the group had been on a mothership carrying more than 800 people before being transferred to a second vessel.Authorities have not found the original boat, thought to be now carrying around 500 people.Authorities have yet to confirm if the group who landed off Indonesia’s coast belonged to that larger group. 
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The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Thursday it will cap big bank dividend payments and bar share repurchases until at least the fourth quarter after finding lenders faced significant capital losses when tested against an economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic.In its analysis, the Fed found that the country’s largest lenders have struggled to model the unprecedented downturn and ensuing rescue programs, adding to already unprecedented uncertainty about how banks and the economy overall would perform in the coming months.The Fed did not say how each bank fared under the pandemic analysis but found the 34 tested firms could suffer as much as $700 billion in aggregate loan losses under the most severe, “W-shaped” economic recovery.Shares of banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc tumbled in after-hours trading on the news, having risen earlier in the day.The Fed determined that although banks could weather a severe, tumultuous and prolonged economic downturn, several would cut close to their minimum capital requirements.With that in mind, the regulator placed a new limit on how much capital banks could pay to investors in dividends in the third quarter. They cannot pay more than they did in the second quarter, and payments cannot exceed average net income over the last four quarters.The Fed also said it was barring share repurchases for at least the third quarter. The biggest banks had voluntarily suspended buybacks as the pandemic took hold, but it was not clear how long that would last.The Fed’s actions were unprecedented. It was the first time since the central bank implemented stress tests during the 2007-09 financial crisis that it had to fundamentally alter its annual exam for a dramatic economic swing.After releasing some details in February, the Fed had to add last-minute “sensitivity analyzes” in May to account for actual economic turmoil that exceeded the worst-case officials envisioned in the original test.The Fed’s analysis suggested that some banks are more vulnerable than others. In aggregate, banks saw capital levels fall to 7.7 percent under the toughest scenario, but some came dangerously close to the 4.5 percent minimum they are required to hold to be considered well-capitalized.Without naming any particular bank, the Fed said some relied on “more optimistic than appropriate” outlooks and that their capital planning “has not been thoughtful.”The biggest banks either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to Reuters on Thursday evening.The Financial Services Forum, an industry trade group, said the results underscored the industry’s strength. The group also highlighted steps banks have taken to support the economy and urged the Fed to be transparent in its process.Banks privately received their specific results from the Fed on Thursday. They can adjust original plans to get a better assessment and release those details after the market closes on Monday.Analysts and investors suggested the Fed’s capital limitations — though surprising — were not necessarily a bad thing. Although banks had voluntarily suspended buybacks, they were more reticent to limit dividends, and the Fed’s restrictions are forcing them to be cautious.”It is worth being punished a little bit to ensure the long-term viability of your investments,” said Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, whose fund owns JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. “I’m not mad at (the Fed).” 
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Texas on Thursday halted steps to reopen its economy after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, as the United States hits infection rates not seen since the start of the pandemic.Twenty-nine states are now experiencing new surges, with more than 35,900 cases recorded in the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University — a level approaching a new record.Texas was among the most aggressive states in reopening in early June after months of lockdown, its leadership confident it had escaped the worst of the pandemic that has claimed almost 122,000 lives in the U.S., by far the highest number in the world.”The State of Texas will pause any further phases to open Texas as the state responds to the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations,” Governor Greg Abbott’s office announced in a statement.”The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread,” Abbott said, asking residents to wear masks and respect social distancing guidelines.Abbott is an ally of Donald Trump, but his latest announcement was in stark contrast to the president, who has tried to signal that the virus crisis is largely over.In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now estimates that the 2.4 million recorded cases may represent only a tenth the total number of people who have been infected at some point, according to estimates from nationally representative antibody surveys.It “looks like it’s somewhere between five and eight percent of the American public” that have antibodies, said CDC director Robert Redfield, a range of between 16.5 and 26.4 million people.Three northeastern states that made significant progress beating back the pandemic — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — on Wednesday urged visitors arriving from U.S. hotspots such as Texas, Florida and Alabama to quarantine themselves.Several states in the South and West are suffering what White House advisor and top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci described as “disturbing” new surges in infections.Politicization of masksExperts blame a patchwork of responses at the official level, the politicization of masks and physical distancing, and the widespread onset of complacency.Unlike Europe and parts of East Asia, the United States never climbed down from its peak, and is still in the midst of its first wave.Wearing a mask and maintaining an appropriate physical distance are urged in federal guidelines, but that hasn’t been made mandatory in many of the regions now seeing surges.On the other hand, in cities like the capital Washington, mask-wearing is the norm, with people voluntarily wearing them outside too, especially in places where it is hard to maintain distance at all times.These differences reflect the country’s polarized politics, with many Republicans casting face coverings as an assault on their liberty and a liberal conspiracy to stoke fear.Leading the charge is Trump, who last week held a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma against the advice of top health officials and now plans to travel to New Jersey to visit a golf club he owns, overriding a quarantine order that asks outsiders to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival.Pregnancy warningThe CDC, meanwhile, has also revised its list of conditions that might increase a person’s susceptibility to the virus.According to its research, “Pregnant women were significantly more likely to be hospitalized, admitted to the intensive care unit, and receive mechanical ventilation than nonpregnant women; however, pregnant women were not at greater risk for death from COVID-19.”The CDC has also removed the age-specific warning for severe COVID-19 disease, saying that risk rises steadily as you increase in age and it’s not just those over 65 who are at increased risk. 
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Scientists at NASA are planning a launch to Mars later this summer. The space agency will send to the surface a rover they describe as a “robot scientist.” Part of that mission will also be NASA’s first attempt at flight on the Red Planet. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us This Week in Space.
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The northeastern U.S. state of New York, which bore the initial brunt of the novel coronavirus pandemic, is requiring visitors from eight states to enter into a two-week quarantine period.The order announced Wednesday by New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo applies to residents of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, all of which have reported a rising number of new cases in recent weeks. Cuomo was joined by video conference by fellow Democrats Ned Lamont and Phil Murphy, governors of the neighboring states of Connecticut and New Jersey, which are duplicating New York’s quarantine requirements.The tri-state quarantine mandate was issued the same day the United States reported more than 36,000 new COVID-19 infections, the highest one-day number of new cases since late April. The bulk of the new infections stretch across the nation, from Florida in the southeast, through the southwest including Arizona and Texas and into the western state of California.Disney delaysSeveral states reported their highest number of coronavirus hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic in March, including Texas, which recorded over 5,000 total new cases, including over 4,000 hospitalizations, and California, which posted a staggering 7,000 total new cases. The soaring rates of infections in California has prompted the Disney entertainment giant to postpone the planned reopening of its popular Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks, which were scheduled for July 17, the 65th anniversary Disneyland’s opening.The company said it will wait until state officials issue its theme park reopening guidelines, which will occur sometime after July 4.Disneyland’s sister theme park, Florida-based Walt Disney World, which is also slated to reopen next month, will host the National Basketball Association when it resumes its regular season. But those plans were overshadowed when three NBA players, Malcolm Brogdon of the Indiana Pacers and Jabari Parker and Alex Len of the Sacramento Kings, announced they had tested positive for the coronavirus. The trio’s positive results came as part of the mandatory testing for the 22 teams that will participate in the resumed season that is set to tipoff on July 30.The United States leads the world in both total number of infections with more than 2.3 million cases, about one-fourth of all cases, and nearly 122,000 deaths as of early Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.Latin America has emerged as the world’s newest epicenter for COVID-19 with the regional death toll surpassing 100,000 with more than half, 54,000, in Brazil.10 million casesWorld Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the number of coronavirus cases throughout the world could reach 10 million next week, a sharp increase from the 9.3 million cases, including over 482,000 deaths, currently reported.WHO emergencies chief Dr. Mike Ryan said Wednesday the pandemic for many countries in the Americas still has not peaked, and that the outbreak in the region was “still intense,” particularly in Central and South America.Ryan said many countries in the Americas have seen increases in cases in the last week ranging between 25 percent and 50 percent.Tedros said the 10 million milestone projected for next week is “a sober reminder that even as we continue our research into vaccines and therapeutics, we have an urgent responsibility to do with the tools we have now to suppress transmission and save lives.”
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Australia’s military is being called in to help the state of Victoria cope with a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Authorities have reported a spike in COVID-19 infections in the past week and have urged residents not to leave several disease hot spots in Melbourne.Victoria recorded 33 new coronavirus infections Thursday, the ninth consecutive day of double-digit growth in case numbers. Lockdown restrictions that have been eased in recent weeks could be reimposed.Sending in the military is a significant move. One thousand Australian troops will boost security at quarantine facilities for travelers returning from overseas. They will also help with testing as the state struggles with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Complacency and a flouting of distancing and hygiene protocols have been blamed.“The primary lever that we have now is a test-and-trace mechanism, broadening the testing availability, and the messaging and reach everyone about the need to test if they are symptomatic is our key driver to get numbers down,” said Brett Sutton, Victoria’s chief medical officer.The virus is spreading, especially in Melbourne, the state’s largest city and the second-largest city in Australia, and hot spots could again be forced into lockdown.Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews described the pandemic as a “public health bushfire,” a reference to the deadly summer blazes that tore across much of southeastern Australia.Andrews said there will be a testing blitz in 10 suburbs, and more than 100,000 tests are planned in the next 10 days.“People are going to be knocking on your door and they are going to be asking you to get tested,” Andrews said. “Please say yes. Please go and get tested. That is the most important thing that you in those suburbs can do to help us contain this virus.”State government health care workers will be using a new type of saliva swab, rather than nasal pads, to screen for the disease.Authorities have said that large family gatherings, permitted following the easing of lockdown restrictions in Victoria, have been the source of the new infections.Officials in New South Wales, the nation’s most populous state, remain concerned about active community transmission of the virus. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was not a time for residents to be complacent.There is some good news, though. The state of Queensland has now gone eight days without any new COVID-19 cases.Australia has recorded 7,521 confirmed coronavirus cases, 104 people have died. 
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Colombian President Ivan Duque said he is receptive to prosecutors seeking a life sentence if several soldiers accused of raping a 12-year-old girl Monday are charged and convicted.Gito Dokabu Indigenous Governor Juan De Dios Queragama said a human rights official told him seven uniformed soldiers raped the girl. He said the girl was unable to walk when friends assisting her mother found at her at her school.No circumstances of the alleged attack were immediately made public. The case comes a week after Colombia’s Senate approved a life in prison sentence for cases involving the rape or murder of minors.Colombia’s attorney general is investigating whether the soldiers were involved and will determine if they will face charges. 
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