ICONS TOPPLE IN AMERICA AS US MILITARY, LAWMAKERS SNUB DONALD TRUMP

They are time capsules. But many are not standing the test of time or

changed attitudes - especially after the death of George Floyd at the hands

of a white police officer last month.

When statues were first erected honouring Confederate generals, the white

population in the southern states would, by and large, have nodded with

approval. After all, their heroes' may not have prevailed in that awful

Civil War, but they were revered all the same.

For the "freed" black population, the building of monuments to men who

sought to keep them in chains would have been anathema. But they didn't have

a say.

Now, their descendants and their supporters do want them gone and some are

not willing to wait. They have toppled a few of these and demanding the rest

be dismantled.

It's not just the Confederate luminaries being toppled.

Several statues of Christopher Columbus have been attacked, decapitated, and

even dumped in a lake.

The debate over whether to keep or remove Confederate statues has simmered

long before the current protests. But this time, the vandalism of these

sites - including with messages to "stop white supremacy" - has brought the

issue into sharp focus.

Calls are growing in Washington DC to re-examine the country's dodgy past,

with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for the removal of 11 confederate

statues from the Capitol even as more extreme BLM ('Black Lives Matter')

agitators are demanding removal of monuments to the country's founding

fathers, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were both slave owners.

Then there's the case of legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in

North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. that are

named after Confederate generals. President Donald Trump is dead set against

changing the names of these bases. But even some Republican Senators snubbed

the President on the issue, with members of the Armed Services Committee

voting to permit the military to rename bases named after Confederate

generals within the next three years although the White House spokesperson

said the President would veto any bill that allowed it.

A top U.S military general delivered a resounding snub to the President,

saying it was wrong on his (the general's) part to have accompanied Trump on

his walk from the White House to a church opposite for a photo op, after

protestors were dispersed with force, earlier this month.

BIDEN PREDICTS MILITARY WILL INTERVENE IF TRUMP REFUSES TO ACCEPT ELECTION

LOSS

Joe Biden has predicted the military will escort Donald Trump from the White

House should the president lose November's election but refuse to leave

office.

Biden, speaking to the Daily Show's Trevor Noah, said that his single

greatest concern is that the president will "try to steal this election".

The Democratic presidential nominee cited Trump's baseless linking of

mail-in ballots to voter fraud, even though he has used this method of

voting himself, and his accusations, without evidence, that Democrats are

trying to rig the election.

Biden told Noah that he has thought about a scenario where Trump would

refuse to relinquish power after losing the election but said he was

confident top military figures would intervene. "I am absolutely convinced

they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch," Biden said.

EU TO EASE VIRUS TRAVEL BANS FROM JULY 1, BUT NOT TO ALL

The European Union on Thursday announced plans to ease a ban on all travel

to the continent, with foreign students, non-EU nationals who normally live

in Europe and certain highly skilled workers likely to be exempt from the

coronavirus restrictions from July 1.

With borders inside Europe's ID check-free travel area likely to be fully

functional again by the end of June, the EU's executive arm, the European

Commission, is recommending that outside borders be opened to give a

much-needed boost to virus-ravaged economies and in particular the tourism

sector.

"While we will all have to remain careful, the time has come to make

concrete preparations for lifting restrictions with countries whose health

situation is similar to the EU's and for resuming visa operations," EU Home

Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said.

While the spread of the coronavirus has eased in Europe, it remains high

elsewhere and other countries still have bans in place on the entry of some

European nationals, so the commission is reluctant to lift all travel

restrictions.

It is urging European countries to take coordinated decisions on whom they

let in and from where - given that visas for the passport-free Schengen area

allow travel in 26 countries - and base their actions on data from the World

Health Organisation and Europe's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

FEARS OF SECOND CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK HIT GLOBAL SHARES

Financial markets have tumbled amid fears that an uptick in coronavirus

cases will hurt the economic recovery.

The global declines came a day after America's central bank warned the US

faced a long road to economic recovery.

In the US, the three main financial indexes saw their worst day in weeks,

with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 7%.

The falls followed a weeks-long rally that had helped shares recover some

ground from March lows.

Energy and travel stocks were among the biggest losers, as oil prices also

took a hit.

Earlier, European and Asian shares also dropped, with the UK's FTSE 100

sinking about 4%. In Germany, the Dax fell 4.4%, while in France the CAC 40

ended 4.4% lower.

"Government, companies and people would be better prepared for a second wave

than for the first one," said Roland Kaloyan, European equity strategist at

Societe Generale.

"But the problem is there is a limit to governments injecting money."

Share prices had gained amid hopes that the economy would rebound as

authorities loosened the controls put in place to try to slow the spread of

the virus.

Last week's surprise report showing US employers had restarted hiring in May

helped to push the Nasdaq index to new highs.

But the recovery remains tentative.

DONALD TRUMP TARGETS ICC WITH SANCTIONS OVER AFGHANISTAN WAR CRIMES CASE

President Donald Trump on Thursday authorised U.S. economic and travel

sanctions against International Criminal Court employees involved in an

investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in

Afghanistan.

In announcing the president's executive order, Trump administration

officials said the Hague-based tribunal threatens to infringe on U.S.

national sovereignty and accused Russia of manipulating it to serve Moscow's

ends.

"We cannot, we will not stand by as our people are threatened by a kangaroo

court," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in announcing the move.

"I have a message to many close allies in the world. Your people could be

next, especially those from NATO countries who fight terrorism in

Afghanistan right alongside us," he said.

In a statement, the ICC said Washington's move was the "latest in a series

of unprecedented attacks on the court."

"These attacks constitute an escalation and an unacceptable attempt to

interfere with the rule of law and the Court's judicial proceedings," the

ICC said.

Foreign Minister Stef Blok of the Netherlands, a member of the Western

security alliance, wrote on Twitter he was "very disturbed" by the U.S.

stance, saying his nation supported the ICC, which he described as "crucial

in the fight against impunity."

The sanctions that can be imposed under the order include freezing the U.S.

assets of those who help the ICC investigate or prosecute American citizens

without U.S. consent, as well as barring them and their families from

visiting the United States.

Neither Pompeo nor any of the top officials who were present at the

announcement.

GEORGE FLOYD DEATH: GEN MARK MILLEY SORRY FOR JOINING TRUMP WALK TO CHURCH

The top US military officer says he was wrong to have joined President

Donald Trump during his controversial walk to a damaged church near the

White House.

The 1 June event created "a perception of the military involved in domestic

politics", Gen Mark Milley said.

Mr Trump walked to the church and held up a Bible after a peaceful protest

at the death of African American George Floyd was forcibly dispersed.

The use of troops to tackle the protests has provoked fierce US debate.

Mr Trump has regularly referred to "law and order", calling in the National

Guard to the US capital, vowing to deploy the military to other cities and

condemning violent protests.

The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff was speaking in a video for a

National Defense University commencement ceremony.

He said: "I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in

that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic

politics.

"As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned

from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it."

BRAZIL STRIKES DEAL WITH CHINESE LAB FOR PRODUCING VACCINE AGAINST COVID-19

The Sao Paulo government announced on June 11 that Brazil's Instituto

Butantan reached an agreement with the Chinese laboratory Sinovac Biotech to

produce an experimental vaccine against COVID-19.

Some 9,000 Brazilians will participate in tests beginning in July,

representing the third and last stage of testing before distribution. If the

vaccine is effective, it will be produced in Brazil. Sao Paulo Gov. Joao

Doria said the vaccine could be available in the first half of 2021.

"Today is a historic day for Sao Paulo, Brazil and world science. The

vaccine that Butantan will produce is one of the most advanced," Mr. Doria

said at a press conference. He said he hoped it can be used to immunize

millions of Brazilians.

The experimental vaccine has already passed two stages of testing in China,

where it was given to monkeys and then to 744 Chinese volunteers.

Dimas Covas, director of Butantan, said the vaccine is in the group of the

10 most advanced, among more than 100 that are being developed worldwide.

PAKISTAN'S ECONOMY CONTRACTS FOR FIRST TIME IN 68 YEARS BY -0.38 PC

For the first time in 68 years, Pakistan's economy is set to contract in the

outgoing fiscal year with a negative 0.38 per cent due to the adverse impact

of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the already weak financial

situation before the pandemic hit the country, according to the economic

survey unveiled on Thursday.

Advisor on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, releasing the Pakistan Economic

Survey 2019-20 said the economy suffered massively due to the coronavirus

pandemic which has so far infected about 120,000 people in the country, and

forced the government to impose lockdown in March for several weeks.

The pandemic has badly hit the economy in the current fiscal year ending on

June 30.

For the first time in 68 years, Pakistan's economy has marginally contracted

by 0.38 per cent in the outgoing fiscal year due to adverse impacts of novel

coronavirus coupled with economic stabilisation policies that had hit the

industrial sector much before the deadly pandemic.

Except for the agriculture sector that grew 2.7 per cent, the industrial and

services sectors witnessed negative growth rates, pulling the overall growth

rate down to negative 0.38 per cent in the fiscal year 2019-20, ending on

June 30, the economic survey said.