Iran journalist who fueled 2017 protests sentenced to death

Iran sentenced a once-exiled journalist to death over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests that began at the end of 2017, authorities said Tuesday. Ruhollah Zam's website and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran's Shiite theocracy. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced Zam's death sentence on Tuesday, saying he had been convicted of “corruption on Earth,” a charge often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.

source https://news.yahoo.com/iran-journalist-inspired-2017-rallies-074522041.html

Trump news – live: ‘Delusional’ president accused of ‘humiliating and bullying’ world leaders as pressure mounts over Russian bounty and coronavirus

Donald Trump has been accused of using Oval Office phone calls to “humiliate and bully” world leaders including German chancellor Angela Merkel and ex-British prime minister Theresa May while pandering to authoritarians like Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.A damning article by veteran reporter Carl Bernstein quotes sources describing Trump as “delusional” and jeopardising America’s national security and place on the global stage by surrendering political advantage to Putin, who is likened to “a chess grandmaster” making short work of “an occasional player of checkers”.

source https://news.yahoo.com/trump-news-live-delusional-president-073000487.html

Belgian king expresses regret for violence in colonial rule

For the first time in Belgium's history, a reigning king expressed regret Tuesday for the violence carried out by the former colonial power when it ruled over what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a letter to the president of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, which was published on the 60th anniversary of the African country's independence, Belgium's King Philippe conveyed his “deepest regrets” for the “acts of violence and cruelty” and the "suffering and humiliation" inflicted on Belgian Congo. “To further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruitful friendship, we must be able to talk to each other about our long common history in all truth and serenity,” Philippe wrote.

source https://news.yahoo.com/belgian-king-expresses-regret-violence-061332699.html

'Dirty' depiction of Kim's wife outraged NKorea: Russian envoy

North Korea's fury over anti-Pyongyang leaflets launched from the South is driven by "dirty, insulting" depictions of leader Kim Jong Un's spouse, Russia's top envoy in the reclusive country has said. In recent weeks Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations over anti-North leaflets which defectors based in the South send across the militarised border -- usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. The campaigns have long been a point of contention between the two Koreas, but this time, Pyongyang upped the pressure, blowing up a liaison office and threatening military measures.

source https://news.yahoo.com/dirty-depiction-kims-wife-outraged-nkorea-russian-envoy-073746624.html

Report: Bombing wounds Iranian paramilitary commander

source https://news.yahoo.com/report-bombing-wounds-iranian-paramilitary-072324689.html

Analysis: Virus surge forces Arizona gov's hand on masks

After telling Arizonans that many public places were again being closed amid a surge of coronavirus cases, Gov. Doug Ducey ended a somewhat contentious news conference by imploring people to wear face masks. While the Republican governor has never discouraged the use of masks, his full-throated endorsement of them was a big change from a largely lukewarm stance the last few months. “There are some people that can’t wear masks for whatever reason, shortness of breath or they are asthmatic,” Ducey said June 13 when asked why he wouldn’t mandate the use of them.

source https://news.yahoo.com/analysis-virus-surge-forces-arizona-050223092.html

Support for Putin wanes in his former Russian stronghold

In 2011, the industrial city of Nizhny Tagil was dubbed “Putingrad” for its residents’ fervent support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nine years later, it appears the city 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) east of Moscow no longer lives up to that nickname. Workers are speaking out against the constitutional changes that would allow Putin to stay in office until 2036 amid growing frustration over their dire living conditions, which have not improved despite all the promises.

source https://news.yahoo.com/support-putin-wanes-former-russian-063013949.html

Israel undeterred by international opposition to annexation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to carry out his pledge to begin annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, possibly as soon as Wednesday. Israel’s right wing has long favored annexing parts or all of the West Bank, saying the territory is vital for the country’s security and an inseparable part of the biblical Land of Israel.

source https://news.yahoo.com/israel-undeterred-international-opposition-annexation-060952537.html

Security Council extends peacekeeping force in Mali for year

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Monday to extend the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali for a year and called for a long-term and detailed plan for it to hand over security responsibilities and leave the West African nation. The resolution adopted by the 15-member council said the priority of the peacekeeping mission remains to support implementation of Mali’s 2015 peace agreement signed by three parties — the government, a coalition of groups called the Coordination of Movements of Azawad that includes ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs who seek autonomy in northern Mali, and a pro-government militia known as the Platform.

source https://news.yahoo.com/security-council-extends-peacekeeping-force-054816862.html

Changes in military recruiting may endure after pandemic

With his Army recruiting office shuttered due to the coronavirus, Staff Sgt. Anthony Holt has had to be creative to meet his enlistment goals. The Army also has maritime jobs, Holt told him. ”If I have the opportunity to help somebody the way that the Army’s helped me, I seize that opportunity.”

source https://news.yahoo.com/changes-military-recruiting-may-endure-041504294.html

Seoul police say they're questioning anti-North activists

South Korean police said Tuesday that they’ve summoned two activists accused of raising tensions with North Korea by sending propaganda balloons or plastic bottles filled with rice across the border. Park Sang-hak, a North Korean refugee who has floated anti-Pyongyang leaflets by balloon across the land border, and his brother Park Jung-oh, who has floated plastic bottles filled with rice across the sea boundary, were being questioned at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, an agency officer with direct knowledge of the cases said.

source https://news.yahoo.com/seoul-police-theyre-questioning-anti-044523986.html

Confederate flag losing prominence 155 years after Civil War

Long a symbol of pride to some and hatred to others, the Confederate battle flag is losing its place of official prominence 155 years after rebellious Southern states lost a war to perpetuate slavery. Mississippi's Republican-controlled Legislature voted Sunday to remove the Civil War emblem from the state flag, a move that was both years in the making and notable for its swiftness amid a national debate over racial inequality following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Mississippi's was the last state flag to include the design.

source https://news.yahoo.com/confederate-flag-losing-prominence-155-043751019.html

GOP lawmakers urge action after Russia-Afghanistan briefing

Eight Republican lawmakers attended a White House briefing about explosive allegations that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan — intelligence the White House insisted the president himself had not been fully read in on. Members of Congress in both parties called for additional information and consequences for Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, and eight Democrats were to be briefed on the matter Tuesday morning, a day after the Republicans' briefing.

source https://news.yahoo.com/gop-lawmakers-urge-action-russia-042536634.html

AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

source https://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-white-house-aware-042315076.html

Distancing from Trump? Some Republicans step up critiques

For more than three years, President Donald Trump instilled such fear in the Republican Party's leaders that most kept criticism of his turbulent leadership or inconsistent politics to themselves. Four months before voters decide the Republican president's reelection, some in Trump's party are daring to say the quiet part out loud as Trump struggles to navigate competing national crises and a scattershot campaign message. “He is losing,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump friend and confidant, said Sunday of Trump’s reelection prospects on ABC’s “This Week.”

source https://news.yahoo.com/distancing-trump-republicans-step-critiques-042137655.html

Roberts a pivotal vote in the Supreme Court's big opinions

The biggest cases of the Supreme Court term so far have a surprising common thread. On a court with five Republican appointees, the liberal justices have been in the majority in rulings that make workplace discrimination against gay and transgender people illegal, protect young immigrants from deportation and, as of Monday, struck down a Louisiana law that restricted abortion providers. As surprising, Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative nominated by President George W. Bush who has led the court for nearly 15 years, has joined his liberal colleagues in all three.

source https://news.yahoo.com/roberts-pivotal-vote-supreme-courts-042030610.html

Carl Bernstein: Trump Was ‘Delusional’ And Outmatched In Calls With Putin And Erdogan

One source described the nature of the calls between Trump and Putin as sounding like “two guys in a steam bath.”

source https://news.yahoo.com/trump-putin-erdogan-cnn-carl-bernstein-040338449.html

AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

source https://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-white-house-aware-023153573.html

Trump's phone calls with foreign leaders are so unhinged that US officials think the president is 'delusional' and a national security threat

Trump reportedly chats with Putin like they're "two guys in a steam bath" and behaves in a "near-sadistic" way with women world leaders, a new report says.

source https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-phone-calls-foreign-leaders-011049641.html

Trump 'bullied and humiliated' Theresa May on phone calls, saying she was 'spineless' on Brexit

Donald Trump regularly “bullied and humiliated” Theresa May on the phone, saying she was “spineless” on Brexit, one of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal has claimed. The US president attacked the then British prime minister as “a fool” for her pro-Remain stance on the European Union, ties with Nato and other issues the pair disagreed on, Carl Bernstein reported for CNN. "He'd get agitated about something with Theresa May, then he'd get nasty with her on the phone call," wrote Mr Bernstein, quoting a source who described the verbal assaults as “near-sadistic”. "It's the same interaction in every setting with just no filter applied," the source said. Mr Trump’s relationship with Mrs May was notoriously fraught, with both taking very different approaches to issues which once bonded the two countries. Observers described the special relationship during the period Mrs May served as premier as arguably at its lowest point since the Suez Crisis of 1956.

source https://news.yahoo.com/trump-bullied-humiliated-theresa-may-000519851.html

Egypt seeks UN resolution on Nile dam ispute with Ethiopia

source https://news.yahoo.com/egypt-seeks-un-resolution-nile-002238904.html

Once again, US-Russia tensions soar despite Trump

Donald Trump has spent much of the past four years musing about warmer ties with Russia. Top Democrats have demanded answers and even some Republicans have urged retaliation after reports, first published by The New York Times, that a Russian unit offered rewards to Taliban-linked militants to kill US-led forces in Afghanistan. The furor comes weeks after Trump again offered an olive branch to President Vladimir Putin, speaking of inviting him to an expanded summit of the Group of Seven, from which Russia was kicked out over its 2014 takeover of Crimea.

source https://news.yahoo.com/once-again-us-russia-tensions-soar-despite-trump-231609335.html

AP FACT CHECK: Actually, 20% of US lives in a virus hot spot

It’s been a frequent Trump administration talking point on the recent spike in COVID-19 infections: Don’t worry, only a small sliver of U.S. counties is at greater risk. In offering this reassurance, Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar have said that only 3% or 4% of counties in the country are seeing a surge in cases. Focus on the “encouraging signs," Pence told senators last week.

source https://news.yahoo.com/ap-fact-check-actually-20-225145915.html

Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump, asks Interpol to help

Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly said Monday. While Trump faces no danger of arrest, the charges underscore the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

source https://news.yahoo.com/iran-issues-arrest-warrant-trump-104313251.html

Christie's urged to cancel auction of 'looted' Nigerian artefacts

A historian says they were taken from shrines in south-eastern Nigeria during the 1960s civil war.

source https://news.yahoo.com/christies-urged-cancel-auction-looted-102714622.html

Virus pushes millions into hunger; UN seeks more food funds

Millions of people have been pushed into hunger by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday as it appealed for nearly $5 billion to help feed the growing numbers in poor and middle-income countries. “The frontline in the battle against the coronavirus is shifting from the rich world to the poor world,” said David Beasley, WFP’s executive director. “Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos."

source https://news.yahoo.com/virus-pushes-millions-hunger-un-102326807.html

Residents of eastern Ukraine vote on extending Putin's rule

Residents of separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine who have Russian citizenship are travelling to Russia to vote on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to remain in power until 2036. Authorities of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics have organized bus services to polling stations in the neighboring Rostov region in Russia, in what is seen by many as part of the widespread effort to boost turnout at the controversial plebiscite. On Friday morning, dozens of people gathered at a bus station in Donetsk, a rebel-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, waiting to get on a bus to Russia.

source https://news.yahoo.com/residents-eastern-ukraine-vote-extending-092606491.html

Hunger stalks children in Yemen as UN cuts aid programs

AL-HANABIYA, Yemen (AP) — When Issa Nasser was born late last year in a village in northern Yemen, his weight was about 3 kilograms, or 6.6 pounds. Issa’s condition mirrors what the U.N. children’s agency warned about last week, that millions of children in war-torn Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation as the coronavirus sweeps across the Arab world’s poorest country and as humanitarian agencies suffer from a huge drop in funding. The baby's father, Ibrahim Nasser, a 51-year-old displaced fisherman now living in the village of al-Hanabiya in the district of Abs in Hajjah province, said the family has spent most of Issa's months-long life so far in a health care center, some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the village.

source https://news.yahoo.com/hunger-stalks-children-yemen-un-092253658.html

Swiss-EU treaty deal unlikely this year - former EU commissioner

source https://news.yahoo.com/swiss-eu-treaty-deal-unlikely-083209168.html

Call for UN probe over reports that China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress population

The Chinese government is allegedly taking forceful measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, according to an alarming new report on aggressive birth control policies in China’s Xinjiang province. The report by China scholar Adrian Zenz, released on Monday, has prompted a coalition of leading international politicians to call for an independent United Nations investigation into human rights abuses in Xinjiang, to prevent the further suffering of the Uighur people. A statement by the interparliamentary alliance on China (IPAC) cites “a body of mounting evidence” of alleged “mass incarceration, indoctrination, extrajudicial detention, invasive surveillance, forced labour, and the destruction of Uighur cultural sites,” as the basis for action by the UN General Assembly. Professor Zenz’s new research suggests that the sudden fall in Uighur birthrates coincides with reports of a Chinese state policy of intrusive birth prevention, including female sterilisation.

source https://news.yahoo.com/china-forces-birth-control-uighurs-013259897.html

Militants attack Karachi stock exchange, killing at least 3

Militants attacked the stock exchange in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday, killing at least three people — two guards and a policeman, according to police. Inside the stock exchange, broker Yaqub Memon told The Associated Press that he and others were huddled inside their offices while the attack was underway.

source https://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-police-gunmen-attack-stock-061125032.html

Politics latest news: Boris Johnson says it's time for 'Rooseveltian approach to economy'

Coronavirus latest news: Leicester restaurants and bars could remain closed for another two weeks Senior Conservative MPs urge UK negotiators to reject Brexit 'compromise', as talks resume PM to pledge £1.5bn for post-lockdown school building blitz Portugal fights back against UK quarantine threat Brexiteers to be recruited and departments moved to regions in huge Whitehall shake-up Subscribe to The Telegraph, free for one month The Prime Minister has said the UK will need an economic approach like the one enacted by former president Franklin D Roosevelt in his 'New Deal' out of the US's Great Depression. Boris Johnson told the newly-launched Times Radio there will be "some bumpy times" as the UK comes out of coronavirus, but said the Government would now "double-down on our initial agenda", confirming he will set out his domestic vision during a speech in Dudley tomorrow. "This is the time to invest in infrastructure, this is the time to make those long-term decisions for the good of the country. "You have to be careful and the Chancellor will be setting out our plans in the spending review in the autumn. "But in the end what you can't do at this moment is go back to what people called austerity," he added. "I think that would be a mistake. "I think this is the moment for a Rooseveltian approach to the UK." This is the second time in three days a senior member of the Government has channelled the former president, after Michael Gove, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, gave a speech at the weekend praising "FDR" for having saved capitalism and restored faith in democracy. Read more below.

source https://news.yahoo.com/politics-latest-news-ousting-sir-011439371.html

Worst virus fears are realized in poor or war-torn countries

For months, experts have warned of a potential nightmare scenario: After overwhelming health systems in some of the world’s wealthiest regions, the coronavirus gains a foothold in poor or war-torn countries ill-equipped to contain it and sweeps through the population. In southern Yemen, health workers are leaving their posts en masse because of a lack of protective equipment, and some hospitals are turning away patients struggling to breathe. In Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, where there is little testing capacity, a mysterious illness resembling COVID-19 is spreading through camps for the internally displaced.

source https://news.yahoo.com/worst-virus-fears-realized-poor-065144852.html

FTSE set to drop as global virus cases pass 10m – live updates

Britain heading for Brexit ‘customs chaos’ FTSE 100 set to drop Asian markets fall Roger Bootle: The misleading claims of trendy deficit-deniers are more dangerous than ever Sign up here for our daily business briefing newsletter

source https://news.yahoo.com/markets-live-latest-coronavirus-news-061244878.html

Merkel, Macron meet as Germany takes on high-stakes EU presidency

Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on Monday, days before Germany takes on the rotating presidency of the European Union with the economy in the throes of the most severe storm since World War II. "This crisis that we're currently experiencing is different compared to any other we have experienced since the founding of Europe," Merkel, in power since 2005, told parliament in an address laying out priorities for the EU presidency. With all to play for, member states are anxiously looking to Europe's biggest economy to take charge.

source https://news.yahoo.com/merkel-macron-meet-germany-takes-high-stakes-eu-052232639.html

Mississippi surrenders Confederate symbol from state flag

Mississippi will retire the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem, more than a century after white supremacist legislators adopted the design a generation after the South lost the Civil War. A broad coalition of lawmakers — Black and white, Democrat and Republican — voted Sunday for change as the state faced increasing pressure amid nationwide protests against racial injustice. Mississippi has a 38% Black population, and critics have said for generations that it's wrong to have a flag that prominently features an emblem many condemn as racist.

source https://news.yahoo.com/mississippi-surrenders-confederate-symbol-state-050208194.html

Russia's reforms labelled a joke as bookstores sell copies of amended law ahead of vote

Russia's opposition is denouncing this week's vote on President Vladimir Putin's constitutional reforms as a joke, pointing out that copies of the amended basic law are already on sale in Moscow bookshops. From liberal reformers to Communists, Kremlin critics say the vote - which started last week and ends on Wednesday - is a thinly veiled attempt to keep Mr Putin, 67, in power for life. But other than tepid calls to boycott or vote "No", the opposition has done little to actively fight the changes. Russia's top opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who last summer rallied thousands against suspected voter fraud in Moscow, has also shown little interest in combating the reforms. Experts say deep divisions and shrewd moves by the Kremlin are keeping opponents from mounting any serious opposition to Mr Putin's plans. "A lack of resources, a lack of new faces, a lack of excitement, inspiration and faith - that's what I think are the main reason for the problems," said Vitali Shkliarov, a Harvard University fellow and political adviser who has worked with the Russian opposition. "There have been a million opportunities to prove yourself" since Mr Putin announced the reforms, he said. But after years of repression, Kremlin critics feel dispirited. "The Russian opposition does not believe in itself." Mr Putin proposed amending the constitution in January and later approved a last-minute addition that would reset presidential term limits to zero, potentially allowing him to serve two more six-year terms after his mandate expires in 2024. They also include political changes like strengthening the role of parliament and a series of populist measures such as a requirement to adjust state pensions for inflation and an effective ban on gay marriage. Opinion polls show a majority of Russians support the social amendments but there is less enthusiasm for the political reforms.

source https://news.yahoo.com/russias-reforms-labelled-joke-bookstores-042649429.html

China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress population

The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children. While individual women have spoken out before about forced birth control, the practice is far more widespread and systematic than previously known, according to an AP investigation based on government statistics, state documents and interviews with 30 ex-detainees, family members and a former detention camp instructor. The campaign over the past four years in the far west region of Xinjiang is leading to what some experts are calling a form of “demographic genocide."

source https://news.yahoo.com/china-forces-birth-control-muslims-040416780.html

Trump denies briefing on reported bounties against US troops

President Donald Trump has denied that he was made aware of U.S. intelligence officials’ conclusions that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. The Trump administration was set to brief select members of Congress on the matter on Monday. The intelligence assessments came amid Trump’s push to withdraw the U.S. from Afghanistan, and suggested that Russia was making overtures to militants as the U.S. and the Taliban were holding talks to end the long-running war.

source https://news.yahoo.com/trump-denies-briefing-reported-bounties-040234758.html

Russia's opposition flounders as Putin changes constitution

Russia's opposition is denouncing this week's vote on President Vladimir Putin's constitutional reforms as a joke, pointing out that copies of the amended basic law are already on sale in Moscow bookshops. From liberal reformers to Communists, Kremlin critics say the vote -- which started last week and ends on Wednesday -- is a thinly veiled attempt to keep Putin, 67, in power for life. Russia's top opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who last summer rallied thousands against suspected voter fraud in Moscow, has also shown little interest in combating the reforms.

source https://news.yahoo.com/russias-opposition-flounders-putin-changes-constitution-040236821.html

This $5.5M Tuscan Villa In Arizona Includes Saloon, Indoor Basketball, Mine Shaft

Tucked in the Superstition Mountains on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, is a gated community folded in the greens of a golf resort. One of the most private and least modest homes in the community is now up for grabs.The stone mansion at 9364 East Skyline Trail, Gold Canyon, is just nine years old and sits atop a hill providing 360-degree scenic views of mountains, golf courses and cityscapes.Listed at $5.5 million, the 22,740-square-foot home includes a 13-seat movie theater, a wet bar and separate "saloon," a full indoor basketball court and fitness center, a wine cellar with a tasting room, a mine shaft, three spas, 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and 14 fireplaces.The main house shares a 1.9-acre lot with a resort-style pool, multiple patios and fountains, a stone oven, a six-car garage and a 2,000-square-foot detached guest house. Residents can also access neighborhood association amenities, including a private guard service, tennis court, spa and golf course.The property is listed by the Rabold Group and has been on the market for less than a month.See more photos of the property below.See more from Benzinga * 4 Secrets To Successful Freelancing In 2020: 'That's What The Highest-Paid Freelancers Do' * This Day In Market History: Brexit Vote Rocks Europe * Tesla's Electric Vehicle Competition 'Not A Measurable Threat' Yet, Gene Munster Says(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

source https://news.yahoo.com/5-5m-tuscan-villa-arizona-004514017.html

Leading with Pride

Leading with Pride
By

Jeffrey Tumlin addresses participants and attendees, including Mayor London Breed, at the Better Market Street opening day ceremony on Jan. 29.

This week we are profiling several agency leaders, including Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin, on their thoughts about this month’s Pride celebrations and their experience with equity and transit in San Francisco.

Our agency has participated as a sponsor and with a parade contingent in San Francisco’s world-renown Pride celebration for many years. Last week Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin logged in with our communications team to share some of his background and perspective on the 50th anniversary of Pride.

The questions and answers have been edited for length.

Q: What does the 50th anniversary of Pride mean to you?

A: I think the 50th anniversary of Pride is interesting in the context of the George Floyd anti-police brutality protests that are happening in San Francisco. Pride started as a riot. We celebrate the Stonewall uprising, but we forget that years before that the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot happened right here in San Francisco. This was also a bunch of courageous, angry transgender people who felt so hopeless about not being respected and loved in society and so hated by the establishment, that they had nothing to lose and fought back against police brutality. We need to remember that, and we need to take the lessons of our fight for gay equality and understand our responsibility to join our brothers and sisters in fighting for equality and racial equality.

Q: In what ways do you feel the equity work at our agency serves those who identify as LGBTQ+ colleagues?

A: Our equity work at the SFMTA has both an internal focus and an external focus. All our equity work is a call to action. It recognizes our history of not only not valuing certain types of people but also actually undermining their rights and opportunities to serve. So, equity work is not only about treating people equally, it’s about correcting for past injustice. It’s remarkable that even here in San Francisco there’s still so much work we need to do.

Q: In what ways can or does transit in general serve or strengthen the LGBTQ+ community?

A: Transit is very gendered. Transportation is very gendered. If we design our mobility system to serve cisgender young white men, we serve cisgender young white men. If we design our mobility spaces to serve women, people with disabilities and people of color, we end up serving everyone. The design of mobility systems can make us all feel like we are welcome and that we also have responsibilities to uphold in public to make everyone else feel welcome. So, a question that I always ask myself is, “Would my trans friends feel safe here?”

Q: And in answering that, what looks different? How do you recognize that?

A: That’s something I try to ask other people questions about. I’m queer, but I’m also an affluent middle-aged white guy. There are perspectives where I always need to go talk to other people in order to better understand. That’s part of why equity work inside the agency is important for us to deliver quality service to our customers outside the agency.

I know a bit about how to design spaces that are welcoming for women and children. I know a bit about how to design services that are inclusive of transgendered people, but I always need to check with the experts. “Hey, I think I’ve got this right. Is this?” And often I’ve missed some critical detail because it’s not part of my lived experience.

The factors that make a space trans-friendly or queer-friendly or welcoming to women and children are very complex. There aren’t simple rules, but studies have shown if a few younger women start biking, particularly women of color, that tells others that this is an appropriate activity for everyone. And suddenly it changes attitudes.

Q: You’ve mentioned that you see a strong connection between the AIDS and the COVID-19 public health crises. Can you discuss how those are related?

A: It’s been strange having a seat at the table, as the head of a city department, quietly listening to conversations about how the city is responding to COVID-19. I’ve been able to observe that all the institutional mechanisms set up by the Bay Area county health directors back in the 80s to respond to the AIDS health crisis were still there. It’s why the county health directors made the decisions they did and Mayor Breed acted as quickly as she did. Those decisions saved thousands of lives, particularly compared to regions that waited just a couple of weeks longer.

Published June 29, 2020 at 09:19AM
https://ift.tt/2YGNafG

EU, Britain intensify talks on post-Brexit future

The EU and Britain launch an intense five weeks of negotiations on a deal to define their post-Brexit relations on Monday, with London keen to wrap things up quickly. The new round of talks in Brussels will be the first to be held face-to-face since the coronavirus shutdown combined with the two sides' entrenched positions to stall progress. The meetings will alternate weekly between Brussels and London throughout July and at the end of August, as the teams learned on Sunday, the British negotiator David Frost will be promoted to become Prime Minister Boris Johnson's national security adviser.

source https://news.yahoo.com/eu-britain-intensify-talks-post-brexit-future-015939993.html

What do Republicans and Democrats Find Common Ground On These Days? Promoting Democracy In Iran

Democracy for Iran is one cause that effortlessly unites the left and the right in unprecedented ways.

source https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-democrats-common-ground-days-010000502.html

The men who bake up a 'blessing' in Tehran

Bakeries are easy to locate in urban centres of Iran where all one has to do is spot a queue spilling onto sidewalks or simply detect the irresistible scent of freshly baked flatbreads. The baker moves and gesticulates constantly as he works in what resembles a dance in front of gas-fired ovens. Once they are done, the baker again uses the tongs to retrieve the bread, and hangs it on the wall or piles it up.

source https://news.yahoo.com/men-bake-blessing-tehran-183340779.html

Trump skewered by conservative critics over report of Russia paying bounty for killing U.S. troops

A #NeverTrump Republican group skewered the president for his inaction in the face of intelligence reports that Russia paid cash bounties to Islamic militants for killing American troops. The new ad from the conservative Lincoln Project accuses Trump of looking the other way from the damaging report to protect his cozy relationship with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. “Putin paid a bounty to kill American soldiers,” the group said in a tweet.

source https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-trump-russia-lincoln-project-20200628-mznwth4xkjblncomjeps2buuvq-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/news/

Black candidates push race debate into GOP-held districts

It was a scene Jeannine Lee Lake never would have imagined when she first ran against Greg Pence, Vice President Mike Pence’s brother, for a rural Indiana congressional seat two years ago: an almost entirely white crowd of more than 100 people marching silently in the Pences' hometown this month, offering prayers for Black people killed by police and an end to systemic racism. Leading them was Lake, who is in rematch against Pence.

source https://news.yahoo.com/black-candidates-push-race-debate-115911802.html

DC mayor caught between activists, police in funding battle

Muriel Bowser’s national profile had never been higher, thanks to a Twitter beef with President Donald Trump and a renewed push to turn the nation's capital into the 51st state. Now Washington's mayor must pull off a public juggling act as the city budget becomes a battleground for the country's debate on overhauling law enforcement. An activist collective led by Black Lives Matter is trying to capitalize on shifting public opinion, and the demands include major cuts in funding for the Metropolitan Police Department.

source https://news.yahoo.com/dc-mayor-caught-between-activists-115606363.html

UN warns of 'intensified fighting' in Myanmar's Rakhine state

The United Nations called for "urgent measures to spare civilians" in Myanmar's conflict-wracked northwest on Sunday, saying fighting has intensified between the army and insurgents. The military has been battling the Arakan Army (AA) -- a rebel group seeking more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists -- in Myanmar's Rakhine and Chin states since January last year. Under lockdown and with an internet blackout across much of the conflict zone, reporting from the area is difficult to verify.

source https://news.yahoo.com/un-warns-intensified-fighting-myanmars-rakhine-state-000705648.html

Virus-hit Iran says masks compulsory from next week

Iran said Sunday it will make mask-wearing mandatory in certain areas and has allowed virus-hit provinces to reimpose restrictions, as novel coronavirus deaths mounted in the Middle East's worst-hit country. The new steps were announced as Iran counted 144 new fatalities from the COVID-19 disease, its highest death toll for a single day in almost three months. The Islamic republic has refrained from enforcing full lockdowns to stop the pandemic's spread, and the use of masks and protective equipment has been optional in most areas.

source https://news.yahoo.com/virus-hit-iran-says-masks-compulsory-next-week-110819538.html

Taiwan holds LGBT pride parade despite coronavirus

The Taiwanese capital held its annual LGBT pride parade on Sunday, making it one of the few places in the world to proceed with such an event in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The parade in Taipei has drawn tens of thousands of people in the past, but participant numbers Sunday were reduced by both virus concerns and heavy rain. Taiwan is the only place in Asia where same-sex marriage is legal, and its liberal political system has long promoted human rights, free speech and freedom of assembly.

source https://news.yahoo.com/taiwan-holds-lgbt-pride-parade-105142177.html

AP Interview: US envoy calls for Iran arms embargo renewal

An expiring United Nations weapons embargo on Iran must remain in place to prevent it from “becoming the arms dealer of choice for rogue regimes and terrorist organizations around the world,” the U.S. special representative to Iran said Sunday. Brian Hook told The Associated Press that the world should ignore Iran's threats to retaliate if the arms embargo set to expire in October is extended, calling it a “mafia tactic.” Among its options, the Islamic Republic could expel international inspectors monitoring Iran's nuclear program, deepening a crisis created by President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran's 2015 atomic accord with global powers.

source https://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-us-envoy-calls-102047457.html

Women 'on precipice' in developing countries amid COVID-19

Rebecca Nakamanya rolls her eyes, dismissing a question about school fees. “We have not even started thinking about school fees,” she says. In the usually bustling labyrinth of shops surrounding a bus terminal in Uganda's capital, Kampala, she and other women sit idle in their open-air restaurant, waiting for customers who rarely come.

source https://news.yahoo.com/women-precipice-developing-countries-amid-085107006.html