COVID-19 TESTING DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, ASKED MY PEOPLE TO SLOW IT DOWNÂ’:

TRUMP

US President Donald Trump on Saturday told supporters at an election rally

in OklahomaÂ’s Tulsa that he had ordered officials to slow down testing for

coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as it led to more cases.

“You know testing is a double-edged sword,” Trump said. “When you do testing

to that extent youÂ’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people slow

the testing down.”

A White House official later told Reuters that Trump was joking.

Also, Trump has once again blamed China for the global spread of the deadly

coronavirus, terming the disease as “Kung flu”.

The United States has the most Covid-19 infections in the world - more than

2.25 million - and fatalities at close to 1,12,000. His own experts have

recommended increased testing to get ahead of the epidemic and it was a

stunning admission from the president that he had asked for it to be slowed

down.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says US President Donald Trump was

being “tongue in cheek” when he claimed at a campaign rally in Oklahoma that

he asked officials to slow down coronavirus testing.

Navarro said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Trump made the

comment in a “light moment.”

In response to TrumpÂ’s remarks, Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden

criticised Trump for putting politics ahead of the safety and health of

Americans.

STABBING AT U.K. PARK IS DECLARED A ‘TERRORIST INCIDENT’

United Kingdom counter-terrorism officers on Sunday said they are

investigating the knife attack in Forbury Gardens park in Reading on

Saturday evening as a "terrorist incident".

A 25-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the attack was on Sunday

named across the British media as Khairi Saadallah, a Libyan refugee

resident in the UK.

Saadallah was apprehended within minutes of police being called to the scene

of the terror attack on Saturday evening and was arrested on suspicion of

murder and remains in custody.

According to reports, it is understood that Saadallah came to Britain

several years ago as a refugee following the civil war in Libya.

Mental health is being considered a major factor in the incident, 'The

Sunday Telegraph' quoted security sources as saying. It was also claimed

that Saadallah was known to officers and had previously spent at least 12

months in jail for minor offences.

The local Thames Valley Police had initially launched a murder inquiry and

said it was keeping an open mind on the motive behind the knife rampage in

the park in the city centre.

“Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, Senior National Coordinator for

the Counter Terrorism Policing network, has on Sunday morning declared the

incident a terrorist incident, and Counter Terrorism Policing South East

will be taking over the investigation,” a Thames Valley Police statement

said.

TRUMP'S TULSA RALLY ENDS UP AS A DEBACLE FOR EMBATTLED PRESIDENT

President Donald Trump, addressing a less-than-full arena for his first

political rally in months, blasted anti-racism protests and defended his

handling of the coronavirus on Saturday in a bid to reinvigorate his

re-election campaign.

The president, who revels in large crowds and had predicted that his first

rally in months would be epic, blamed the media for discouraging attendees

and cited bad behavior by demonstrators outside, but did not specifically

acknowledge that many seats in the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena were empty.

Trump sought to use the event to bring momentum back to his campaign after

coming under fire for his responses to the coronavirus and to the death of

George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

The smaller-than-expected crowd robbed him, at least for now, of the ability

to highlight enthusiasm for his candidacy as an advantage over his expected

Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, who has eschewed

large campaign events.

The president, who has encouraged a militaristic response to the nationwide

demonstrations while being accused of showing a lack of empathy for the

plight of Black Americans, used his speech to take aim at some of the

protesters.

"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate

our monuments — our beautiful monuments — tear down our statues and punish,

cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for

absolute and total control. We're not conforming," Trump told cheering

supporters.

WITH HIGHEST SINGLE-DAY SPIKE OF 1.83 LAKH CASES, WORLD COVID-19 TALLY OVER

8.7 MILLION: WHO

The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the largest single-day

increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases

in the latest 24 hours.

The UN health agency said Brazil led the way with 54,771 cases tallied and

the US next at 36,617. Over 15,400 came in India.

Experts said rising case counts can reflect multiple factors including more

widespread testing as well as broader infection.

Overall in the pandemic, WHO reported 8,708,008 cases — 183,020 in the last

24 hours — with 461,715 deaths worldwide, with a daily increase of 4,743.

More than two-thirds of those new deaths were reported in the Americas.

In Spain, officials ended a national state of emergency after three months

of lockdown, allowing its 47 million residents to freely travel around the

country for the first time since March 14. The country also dropped a 14-day

quarantine for visitors from Britain and the 26 European countries that

allow visa-free travel.

But there was only a trickle of travelers at Madrid-Barajas Airport, which

on a normal June day would be bustling.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged people to take maximum

precautions: “The virus can return and it can hit us again in a second wave,

and we have to do whatever we can to avoid that at all cost.”

'CORONAVIRUS CASES IN CHINA WERE 37 TIMES HIGHER THAN REPORTED IN JANUARY'

Coronavirus cases in China were likely 37 times higher than that reported by

the country's government in January 2020, according to a US-based think tank

RAND.

Since the outbreak of a novel coronavirus, several governmental and

non-governmental agencies around the world have accused China of opacity

regarding the virus and for hiding information.

RAND has published a report after examining the role of commercial air

travel in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Think Tank has said that there is strong evidence to prove that China's

reported Covid-19 caseload was undercounted by a factor of nearly 40.

"Based on officially reported cases in China in January 2020, the odds of

the novel coronavirus appearing by January 22, 2020, in Japan, Thailand,

South Korea, the United States, and Taiwan--as it did--would have been

minuscule," it noted.

From December 31, 2019, to January 22, 2020, China reported a daily average

of 172 cases of Covid-19 among its residents. This number of confirmed cases

was equivalent to just one per 8.2 million residents in the country per day.

If one goes by this trend, five countries--Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the

United States, and Taiwan--which were most at risk of importing Covid-19

from China should have reported very few or nil cases as far fewer than 8.2

million passengers flew from China to the five countries over that 23-day

period.

If there were an average of 172 total cases per day in China through January

22, 2020, the odds of Japan and Taiwan importing even one case by that date

would be 9 per cent each, noted the think tank. The odds of Japan, Thailand,

South Korea, the United States, and Taiwan all reporting cases would be only

one in 1.3 million.

"To reach those odds, the actual case rate in China would have needed to be

about 37 times higher than what was officially reported on that date--that

is, 18,700 total infectious cases, as opposed to just the 503 total cases

that China reported having on January 22, 2020," the think tank said.

POPE SAYS CORONAVIRUS SHOULD SPARK NEW ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

The drastic reduction in pollution during coronavirus lockdowns around the

world should lead to greater concern for the environment as restrictions are

lifted, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

At his Sunday address in St. PeterÂ’s Square, Francis said the pandemic made

many people reflect on their relationship with the environment. The square

reopened to the public a month ago and ItalyÂ’s last travel restrictions were

lifted on June 3.

“The lockdown has reduced pollution and revealed once more the beauty of so

many places free from traffic and noise. Now, with the resumption of

activities, we should all be more responsible for looking after our common

home,” he said, using his term for the Earth.

Air and water pollution levels plummeted in many places.

In Venice, the usually dark waters of the cityÂ’s canals were so clean

because of reduced boat traffic that fish could be seen for the first time

in many years.

Dolphins swam closer to ports, racoons emerged in New YorkÂ’s Central Park

and mountain goats roamed streets in Wales.

In some cities, such as Milan, pollution reduction spurred officials to plan

more pedestrian islands and cycling paths.

The Roman Catholic Church is currently marking the fifth anniversary of

Francis’ landmark encyclical “Laudato Si” (Praised Be) on the need to

protect nature.

In a 225-page manual released on Thursday, the Vatican said Catholics should

disinvest from fossil fuel industries and closely monitor companies in

sectors such as mining to check if they are damaging the environment.

Francis, speaking a day after the United Nations World Refugee Day, also

said the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need to ensure protection

for refugees because they had become more vulnerable to exploitation.

MADHESIS OPPOSE NEW NEPAL RULE

Days after NepalÂ’s political parties put up a united front for the new map

of the country, a controversial change in the Nepalese citizenship

provisions has fractured its political class. NepalÂ’s chief Opposition

Nepali Congress, and leading figures of NepalÂ’s plains have opposed the

planned changes in the existing citizenship rules that will most notably

affect the families in NepalÂ’s plains also known as the Madhes region where

cross-border kinship with India is common.

“We believe these changes will introduce uncertainty and tension in the

society and families. Our political block and the Nepali Congress are

together in opposing this amendment..” said Madhesi leader Rajendra Mahto

speaking over phone from Kathmandu. The issue came to the forefront after

the ruling Nepal Communist PartyÂ’s Secretariat decided that it will support

a seven-year waiting period before foreign women married to Nepali men can

acquire Nepali citizenship. Madhesi critics have termed the changes as

racially motivated. However, last Thursday, the State Affairs and Good

Governance Committee of the parliament asked all parties to come up with a

decision in five days.

Under Clause 5.1 of Citizenship Act, foreign women marrying Nepali men are

entitled to get citizenship immediately, however that is likely to change in

the near future.

“We are not asking for equality of naturalised citizenship for the

foreign-born men who marry Nepalese women. They stand no chance. At least

the foreign women who marry into Nepalese society should be treated fairly,”

said Mr. Mahto.