Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, a founding member of the long-running soul-funk band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as “Celebration” and “Get Down On It,” has died. He was 70.He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday in New Jersey, where he was a resident of Montclair, according to a statement from his representative.Thomas, an alto sax player, flutist and percussionist, served as master of ceremonies at the band’s shows. His last appearance with the group was July Fourth at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.Born Feb. 9, 1951, in Orlando, Florida, Thomas was known for his prologue on the band’s 1971 hit, “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight.” Known for his hip clothes and hats, he was also the group’s wardrobe stylist. In the early days, he served as the group’s “budget hawk,” carrying their earnings in a paper bag stuffed into the bell of his sax, the statement said.In 1964, seven teen friends created the group’s unique blend of jazz, soul and funk, at first calling themselves the Jazziacs. They went through several iterations before settling on Kool & the Gang in 1969. The group’s other founders are brothers Ronald and Robert Bell, and Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith.The band has earned two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. It was honored in 2014 with a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award. Its music is heavily sampled and featured on film soundtracks, including those for “Rocky,” “Saturday Night Fever” and “Pulp Fiction.”Thomas’ survivors include his wife, Phynjuar Saunders Thomas; daughter Tuesday Rankin; and sons David Thomas and Devin Thomas.
…
King Khufu’s Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said Saturday.
The 4,600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to be inaugurated later this year.FILE – Tourists are gathering around the Sphinx, which guards the Great Pyramid of King Cheops, home of the ancient wooden solar boat, at the Giza necropolis just outside Cairo, Egypt. (photo: Diaa Bekheet)
“The aim of the transportation project is to protect and preserve the biggest and oldest organic artifact made of wood in the history of humanity for the future generations,” the tourism and antiquities ministry said in a statement.
It took 48 hours to transport the cedarwood boat, which is 42 meters (138 feet) long and weighs 20 tons, to its new home. It arrived at the GEM in the early hours Saturday, the ministry said.
The boat was transported as a single piece inside a metal cage carried on a remote-controlled vehicle imported especially for the operation, said Atef Moftah, supervisor general of the GEM project.
The vessel, discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid, has been exhibited for decades at a museum bearing its name at Giza Plateau.
Egypt says the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has been under construction intermittently for 17 years, will contain more than 100,000 artifacts when it opens.
…
After India’s largest slum defeated the pandemic, some of its young residents pulled out their phones to write, shoot and release a triumphant rap video.”At first we were afraid, what would happen to us? But we stood with the doctors… now it’s your turn,” rapped the young men in the video.We Did It — Kar Dikhaya in Hindi — showcased new talent and won acclaim from celebrities, but its creators’ abiding goal was to fight the stigma dogging this densely populated corner of Mumbai.The Dharavi slum is home to around 1 million people, many of whom live in single-room shanties and share communal toilets.Its labyrinthine alleys have long been associated with filth and disease despite its remarkable success in the battle against COVID-19, and its residents battle constant discrimination.But Ayush Tegar Renuka, one of the star students of the Dharavi Dream Project hip-hop academy, told AFP he feels “so proud” of belonging to the community.”The Dharavi shown on TV channels and the real Dharavi are very different places,” the 16-year-old said.Ayush began breakdancing three years ago, brushing off his widowed mother’s pleas to give up a pursuit she feared would result in a trip to the hospital.She was not alone. Many parents were initially reluctant to enroll their children in the school’s free classes, dismissing hip-hop as dangerous, a distraction from homework or simply a waste of time.The Dharavi Dream Project’s co-founder Dolly Rateshwar was determined to change their minds.The daughter of a Hindu priest, Rateshwar was nervous about venturing into the neighborhood, but the teenagers she met struck a chord with her.”I was raised in a very conservative family… I never knew there was a bigger world out there,” the 38-year-old told AFP.”And I was worried that these kids might lose out on life because they didn’t know the possibilities open to them.”‘My confidence level was zero’The school opened its doors in 2015, offering free classes in breakdancing, beatboxing and rapping to around 20 students, with digital media start-up Qyuki — Rateshwar’s employer — and US entertainment titan Universal Music Group footing the bill.As the project won praise from musical icons such as Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman it rapidly expanded, with young students like Joshua Joseph — now better known as MC Josh — using hip-hop to tell their stories.If black rappers in the United States could shine a light on racism, he reasoned, hip-hop could do the same for India’s glaring inequality and mistreatment of marginalized communities.”My confidence level was zero before I started to rap,” the 21-year-old told AFP. “The school changed my life.”When COVID-19 arrived, the rapper’s income collapsed overnight as Dharavi was put under a stringent monthslong lockdown.Mumbai authorities quickly realized that the slum held the key to defeating the pandemic and launched “Mission Dharavi” — aggressively sanitizing communal toilets, running daily “fever camps” to check for symptoms, repurposing wedding halls as quarantine facilities, and asking residents to stay home.By the end of June 2020, Dharavi had recorded just 82 deaths — a fraction of Mumbai’s over 4,500 fatalities.Like the slum, the school staff also refused to be cowed by the virus, switching to online classes soon after the first wave of infections hit last year.As the pandemic ground on, Rateshwar realized that the academy could expand its reach even further, and broadcast an invitation on Instagram for anyone, anywhere, to join their classes.They received 800 responses in the first 24 hours.A year on, the school hosts 100 students who attend every online session — half from Dharavi itself — and 300 others who pop in occasionally, including from overseas.’Everyone wants to become a superstar’But Rateshwar’s focus remains firmly on students from the Mumbai slum, on making sure their voices are heard and their future prospects secured.”Obviously everyone wants to become a superstar but … I also try to tell them about alternative careers in the music industry, as artists’ managers, or jobs in social media,” she said. “Most of all, I want them to stand tall.”For 21-year-old teacher Vikram Gaja Godakiya, who learned breakdancing from YouTube videos, the school means much more than a steady paycheck.”People have always been unfair to Dharavi,” he told AFP, describing how the pandemic had made employers increasingly reluctant to hire slum-dwellers.When Godakiya started breakdancing in secret nine years ago, he never imagined he would be able to do it for a living.”Breaking has given my life purpose,” he said. “I want my students to know that they can do anything if they give it their 100 percent.”
…
Lionel Messi is set to join Paris St. Germain after Barcelona were forced to let their Argentine talisman go as they could not afford to give him a new contract under La Liga’s salary limit rules, L’Equipe reported on Friday.Earlier on Friday, PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino said Messi was an “option” that was being evaluated by the Ligue 1 club.A move to PSG would reunite Messi, who has officially been a free agent since July 1, with his former Barcelona team mate Neymar.On Thursday, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner left Barcelona despite both parties having reached an agreement over a new contract, citing economic and structural obstacles to the renewal of the deal.The 34-year-old was expected to sign a new five-year deal with the Catalan club, which would have included a salary reduction of 50%.Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Friday that the club was forced to let Messi leave because his high wages coupled with strict La Liga financial rules could have jeopardised its future.Messi had tried to leave Barcelona in August 2020, making a formal request for an exit after a breakdown in his relationship with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu but successor Laporta, who presided over the Argentine’s rise to greatness, convinced him to stay.Messi has spent his entire professional career at Barcelona, having joined the club’s youth set-up aged 13, and went on to score 672 goals in 778 games across all competitions since making his debut in 2003.PSG have been busy in the off-season, having already brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan, Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid and Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool, all on free transfers. Full back Achraf Hakimi was signed from Inter Milan.They will begin their new Ligue 1 campaign at newly promoted Troyes on Saturday.
…
Marc Weiss, a farmer in Long Island, New York, was on the verge of bankruptcy because of the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of shutting his farm down, Weiss turned his land into something amazing. Maxim Avloshenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Max Avloshenko
…
China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy represents China as an aggressive, rising superpower. The name is inspired by the Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior film franchise, whose first film debuted in 2015. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with experts on film and Chinese diplomacy about the franchise, its Hollywood influence and its phenomenal appeal with Chinese audiences.
…
The Gotham Awards, the annual New York ceremony for independent film, is the latest film honor to shift to acting categories that aren’t defined by gender. The Gotham Film & Media Institute on Thursday said they will do away with best actor and best actress categories and replace them with “outstanding lead performance” and “outstanding supporting performance.” While award shows like the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys have stuck with the traditional male- and female-designated categories, a growing number of other ceremonies have shifted to gender-neutral awards. The Berlin Film Festival in March handed out their first none-gendered awards. The Grammy Awards ceased separating male and female artists in 2012. “The Gotham Awards have a 30-year history of celebrating diverse voices in independent storytelling,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute, in a statement. “We are proud to recognize outstanding acting achievements each year and look forward to a new model of honoring performances without binary divisions of gender,” said Sharp. “We are grateful to those who helped to start this conversation in recent years, and we are thrilled that the Gotham Awards will continue to support artistic excellence in a more inclusive and equitable way.”
…
Argentina striker Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona despite both parties having reached an agreement over a new contract, the La Liga club said on Thursday, citing economic and structural obstacles to the renewal of deal. “Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish La Liga regulations),” Barca said in a statement. “As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled. “FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandizement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life.” Messi was free to negotiate a transfer with other clubs after his deal ran out at the end of June, but Barcelona had always maintained he wanted to stay with the club. The 34-year-old was reported to sign a new five-year deal. Messi had tried to leave Barcelona in August 2020, making a formal request for an exit after a break down in his relationship with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu but successor Joan Laporta, who presided over the Argentine’s rise to greatness, convinced him to stay. Messi, who joined Barca’s youth set up aged 13, is the club’s all-time top scorer and appearance maker with 672 goals in 778 games in all competitions.
…
British police have arrested 11 people as part of an investigation into the online racist abuse directed at some of the Black players in the England soccer team following their defeat in last month’s Euro 2020 final.Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled the July 11 final after the game finished as a 1-1 draw.The incident prompted a police investigation and drew wide condemnation from the England captain, manager, royalty, religious leaders and politicians.The UK Football Policing Unit said 207 posts on social media were identified as criminal, of which 123 accounts belong to individuals overseas and 34 from the United Kingdom.”There are people out there who believe they can hide behind a social media profile and get away with posting such abhorrent comments. They need to think again,” Chief Constable Mark Roberts, National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Policing Lead, said in a statement.”We have investigators proactively seeking out abusive comments in connection to the match and, if they meet a criminal threshold, those posting them will be arrested.”Our investigation is continuing at pace and we are grateful for those who have taken time to report racist posts to us.”A Twitter Inc spokesperson said last month they had removed more than 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts, while Facebook Inc said it too had quickly removed abusive comments.
…
A condom fixed Jessica Fox’s canoe, and skateboarder Jagger Eaton celebrated his bronze medal by broadcasting live on Instagram. Margielyn Didal “let” Tony Hawk take a picture with her to post on Facebook.The stability of the cardboard framed beds in the athlete’s village has been tested by Olympians who treated them as trampolines on nearly every social media platform, and a Greek water polo player created a dating app — which might have come in handy for American rugby player Ilona Maher, who rolled with the schtick of the “Thirsty Olympian.”The made-to-watch Tokyo Games, where pandemic precautions prevent permitting spectators, have become a digital affair more than ever. From social media to streaming, athletes and their events are reaching the public in record-smashing and trailblazing ways.More than 100 million unique users had visited Olympic digital platforms or used the Tokyo 2020 app through the first week of the games. U.S. rightsholder NBC has notched 2.5 billion streaming minutes of Olympics content across all its digital platforms, the network said, a 77% increase from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games. The first week in Tokyo was the highest-ever weekly usage for streaming platform Peacock.But it’s the social media platforms that are causing the breakout buzz. Social posts by Olympics accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Weibo generated 3.7 billion engagements. The Olympics’ social media accounts have a combined total of 75 million followers.Then there is the TikTok phenomenon. Launched in 2017, the short-form, video-sharing app has been one of the preferred social media platforms of these games. Athletes you’d never heard about before Tokyo — particularly those from niche sports — have used TikTok to capture moments that have not only gone viral but became the avenue to introduce themselves to the world.Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing — all sports that resonate with a younger demographic — certainly helped drive traffic to TikTok. The podium winners in women’s street skateboarding were 13, 13 and 16 years old, and silver medalist Rayssa Leal of Brazil has 3.4 million followers on TikTok, half of her 6.5 million followers on Instagram.Even the official Olympics page has soared with more than three billion views of videos related to its #OlympicSpirit challenge.”TikTok, as my son told me recently, is the digital place of choice of younger audiences,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams says. “The Games has to go to where the people are.”Who Stood OutThe world was familiar with gymnast SIMONE BILES before her second Olympics, and teammate SUNISA LEE was quite popular, too. After Lee won the women’s all-around, she surpassed 1 million followers on her Instagram account. When she settled for bronze on uneven bars, the 18-year-old admitted her increased fame had been a distraction.But ILONA MAHER? Few knew of the 24-year-old rugby player from Vermont who might very well be TikTok’s breakout star of the Olympics. Posting while wearing a red, white and blue bucket hat, the self-deprecating 5-foot-10, 200-pound nursing school graduate read an article that called her “the thirsty Olympian” and ran with it.Maher uses a #beastbeautybrains campaign and hopes her videos spread body image positivity, bring more attention to the sport of rugby, and, most importantly, land her some endorsement deals.”As a female athlete in an emerging sport, I don’t make a lot of money, so I do hope it opens the doors for brand deals,” Maher says. As for the message she’s trying to send young girls: “It’s OK to take up space. You can be so many things, a beast on the rugby field, a beauty whenever, and have as much brains as the smartest person out there.”@ilonamaherThank you from the bottom of my heart♬ original sound – Ilona MaherJAGGER EATON arrived in Tokyo with a following in the skateboarding community that began in 2012 when he set a record as the youngest X Games competitor at age 11. But it wasn’t until his sport was added to the Olympics that the rest of America became familiar with the 20-year-old Arizonan who won bronze with AirPods in his ears and his iPhone in his pocket.When he messed up a trick and then was shown searching for his fallen AirPod, Eaton went viral.”I am so stoked that skateboarding got that many eyes on it. I think it really pushes the sport forward and legitimizes skateboarding,” says Eaton, who says he has “no idea” why America fell in love with him. His social media presence is deliberate, with a defined aesthetic he hopes legitimizes skateboarding.”I feel like people really see how much I love skateboarding and how much I want to give back to the skate community, as well as the younger generation that has given me so much motivation,” Eaton says.Australian canoeist JESSICA FOX found her fame not by winning gold in canoe slalom or bronze in kayak slalom, but when she posted a TikTok video of someone using a condom to repair the nose of her boat.@jessfoxcanoeHow kayakers use condoms 😂🤷🏽♀️ #kayaktips#hacksandtips#diy#carbonrepair#carbon#tokyo2020#olympicgames♬ original sound – jess foxFilipino skateboarder MARGIELYN DIDAL posted a picture alongside Tony Hawk, considered the greatest skateboarder of all-time, that jumped in on Hawk’s running joke that he’s often misidentified in public. When her post was misinterpreted as Didal didn’t recognize Hawk, the GOAT had to explain.ERIK SHOJI, an American volleyball player, gained attention with TikTok food reviews and tours from the athlete’s village, along with behind-the-scenes looks at the athlete’s experience. He didn’t take social media seriously until he started a YouTube channel last year while battling COVID.Shoji amped up his presence as both a way to preserve his memories and spotlight the U.S. men’s volleyball team off the court.”People see us playing but don’t really know us off of the court,” the Hawaiian says. “I hope that by showing myself and my teammates on TikTok that viewers were able to get to know us in a different light and fall in love with our team.”Halfway around the world in Slovakia, 18-year-old synchronized swimmer SILVIA SOLYMOSYOVA gained traction even though she’s not yet an Olympian. Solymosyova has studied TikTok trends to gain 1.2 million followers while reaching the U.S. audience with her underwater videos.@sisa_solymosyova🌪🌊 #whirlpool#tornado#underwaterfun#podvodou♬ I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) – Pitbull”Lots of Slovaks think that everything from abroad is better. My region is too small and my niche is too specific. That’s why I was trying to engage mostly with U.S. TikTokers and target the English speaking audience,” she said. “Because I’m GenZ who is setting trends on TikTok, I’ve learned necessary skills, and I’m a little ahead.”Then there’s MARIOS KAPOTSIS, who is trying to lead Greece to its first-ever Olympic medal in men’s water polo. The 29-year-old developed a dating app called “Vespr” that only functions at night.”So the app starts when the sun goes down, it’s open, and when the sun goes up, it’s closed,” Kapotsis says. “So it’s only during the night. Whatever you do during the night, the next night, everything is finished. So every night is something new.”
…
Georgian strong man Lasha Talakhadze broke his own world record to retain the title in the men’s heaviest weight class at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday with a combined lift of 488 kg. Talakhadze, who won a gold at the 2016 Rio Games in the same category, lifted 223 kg for the snatch and 265 kg for the clean and jerk to also break his own world records in the two categories. “I feel pretty good — I have just gained a second Olympic gold medal and of course I have also set another world record,” Talakhadze said through an interpreter. “We were for a long time looking forward to the Olympics and to win this gold.” Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia holds his national flag as he celebrates the gold medal he won at the men’s +109kg weightlifting event, at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 4, 2021.His total was 47 kilos more than Iran’s Ali Davoudi, who took silver in the men’s +109 kg class. Syria’s Man Asaad took the bronze with 424 kg. Talakhadze dominated the field from the beginning. He was the last lifter to start both the snatch and the clean and jerk, and made three consecutive attempts for each. In his third snatch, Talakhadze initially called for 221 kg, one kilo shy of his world record. Crowds cheered when he increased the weight to 223 kg — and made the lift. He chose to lift 265 kg in his third clean and jerk, one kilo more than his world record, without hesitation. The sound of camera shutters echoed throughout the arena as he made the attempt and succeeded again. Talakhadze, who becomes the first Georgian athlete to win multiple Olympic gold medals in any sport, aims to compete in the Paris Games in 2024. The sport is facing the risk of removal from the Games over persistent doping issues. Talakhadze said that offenders should get what they deserve but that the sport should be included in the Paris Games. “Those who deserve punishment should be punished and weightlifting should remain in the program,” he said.
…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aiming to give full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by early September, according to The New York Times. The two-dose vaccine, which Pfizer developed in collaboration with German-based BioNTech, was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA last November.
It is one of just three COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. stockpile, along with the two-shot vaccine from Moderna and the single-dose version developed by Johnson & Johnson. The newspaper says the FDA is accelerating its normal timetable to grant full approval to the two-dose vaccine as the United States undergoes a new surge of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations caused primarily by the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. The recent surge of new infections is mainly among people who have not gotten vaccinated. The Times quotes recent polls by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care research group, which found that three of every 10 unvaccinated people in the U.S. said they more likely would take a fully approved vaccine.
The surge has prompted a growing number of public and private entities to issue mandatory vaccinations for all of its employees, including an order last week by U.S. President Joe Biden for all employees of the federal government.FILE – A health care worker from Humber River Hospital’s mobile vaccination team administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Church of Pentecost Canada in Toronto, Ontario, May 4, 2021.Pfizer applied for full authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine back on May 7, while Moderna filed for full approval on June 1. Johnson & Johnson said it plans to apply for full approval later this year. In Australia, authorities in New South Wales state Wednesday announced 233 new cases of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the state capital Sydney, the epicenter of the nation’s current surge of new infections. They also reported two new deaths, including a woman in her 80s who died Tuesday, and a man in his 20s who died at his home in Sydney, making him one of the youngest people in Australia to die from the disease.
The unvaccinated man had been in isolation at his home for 13 days when his condition suddenly deteriorated. New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the man’s death shows “again how this disease is lethal, how it affects people of all ages.” The current outbreak has been traced to a Sydney airport limousine driver who tested positive for the Delta variant after transporting international air crews in late June. At least 16 people have died in this latest surge. The city of 5 million residents remains under a strict lockdown until August 28.
Australia has been largely successful in containing the spread of COVID-19 through aggressive lockdown efforts, posting just 35,089 total confirmed cases and 927 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. But it has proved vulnerable to fresh outbreaks due to a slow rollout of its vaccination campaign, with only 15% of its citizens fully vaccinated. And authorities in China have announced that all 11 million citizens in Wuhan will undergo mandatory testing as an outbreak of the Delta variant spreads across the country, with cases confirmed in more than 35 cities. The central Chinese city, where the novel coronavirus first emerged in late 2019 before spreading across the globe, reported three new cases Monday. The new outbreak has been traced to Jiangsu province, where officials say the Delta variant was introduced last month at the airport in Nanjing, the provincial capital. Authorities have suspended all domestic flights from Nanjing and nearby Yangzhou. A separate outbreak in the city of Yangzhou has been traced to infected passengers who traveled across the border from Myanmar. The latest figures from Johns Hopkins show 199.5 million people around the globe have been infected since the start of the pandemic, including 4.2 million deaths. The United States leads the world with 35.2 million total cases, with India in second place with 31.7 million infections, followed by Brazil with 19.9 million. The U.S. leads COVID-19 deaths with 614,295, followed by Brazil with 558,432 and India with 425,757. Information from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
…
A Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she faced punishment if she returned to her country departed Japan Wednesday on a flight bound for Austria. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was scheduled to land in Vienna Wednesday afternoon. She is then expected to travel on to Poland, where the government has offered her a humanitarian visa. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki posted Tuesday on Facebook that he had spoken with Tsimanouskaya and that she should be able to live in Poland without obstacles. Polish authorities granted Tsimanouskaya a humanitarian visa to seek political asylum on Monday after she alleged her team’s officials were trying to force her to fly home to Belarus against her wishes.Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya arrives at the Polish embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 2, 2021. Tsimanouskaya told officials in Tokyo she feared she would not be safe in Belarus from the autocratic government of President Alexander Lukashenko. “They made it clear that upon return home I would definitely face some form of punishment,” she told The Associated Press in a Tuesday videocall interview. “There were also thinly disguised hints that more would await me.” Her departure from Tokyo comes days after she provoked backlash in state-run media in Belarus by criticizing how official were managing the Belarusian Olympians. On her Instagram account, Tsimanouskaya said she was put on the country’s 4×400 relay team even though she has never raced in the event. The Belarus National Olympic Committee has been led for more than 25 years by Lukashenko and his son, Viktor. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Lukashenko government was trying to force Tsimanouskaya to leave the Games “simply for exercising free speech.” Some information in this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…
Experts say South Africa is seeing growing drug addiction among young people during the pandemic. A medical research center found that some teenagers are abusing cough syrup that contains the drug codeine. Franco Puglisi looks at the drug addiction problem and efforts to rehabilitate youth in this report from Johannesburg.Camera: Franco Puglisi Produced by: Barry Unger
…
The state of Florida is experiencing a hospital crisis because of a surge in the number of patients with COVID-19. These patients are younger and sicker than patients infected with the original virus, and they are largely unvaccinated. Most of them have the Delta variant that is sweeping through the southern U.S., where vaccination rates remain low. At a media briefing August 3, doctors belonging to the Infectious Disease Society of America called for more COVID testing and more vaccinations — both in the U.S. and in other countries. The Delta variant was first detected in India, but it is rapidly spreading around the world. Rachael Walensky, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has called the current wave “an epidemic of the unvaccinated.” She called this variant “one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of.” The Delta variant can infect even those who have been vaccinated. Dr. Ricardo Franco, a member of the society, said Delta makes up 89% of new COVID infections at the University of Alabama hospital. He added that 97% of hospitalized patients are not vaccinated against the virus, and that the Delta variant is twice as transmissible as the original virus.Covid-19 restrictions stay in place in the subway system in New York City, Aug. 2, 2021. Covid restrictions are still in force as cases caused by variants are on the rise. “The key here is that the overwhelming majority of infections are occurring among the unvaccinated. Data from COVID trackers show that a vaccinated person is eight times less likely to get infected by Delta compared to an unvaccinated person. He is 25 times less likely to be hospitalized and, if hospitalized, 25 times less likely to die from COVID-19,” Franco said. “The conclusion here is that vaccination is working through this Delta wave,” he continued. “More importantly, unvaccinated people are actually benefitting from greater herd immunity [and] protection in high vaccination counties than in low vaccination counties.” Franco said herd immunity should become more effective as more people get vaccinated. But since fewer tests are being performed than in the earlier stages of the pandemic, less is known about who has the variant and where it is spreading. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel from the University of Pennsylvania also briefed reporters. “We have to stop being U.S.-focused alone,” Emanuel said, “because these variants, in the case of Delta, arose overseas and came here, and so getting the world vaccinated is a top priority and has to be a top priority. We don’t know where a new one [variant] is going to evolve.” Until the virus is stopped, Emanuel said, the best protection is wearing a mask in public places indoors, and even when outdoors, avoiding large crowds.
…
NOAA-supported scientists on Tuesday reported that this year’s “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than originally predicted, at more than 16,000-square kilometers, or about the surface area of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie combined.NOAA forecasted in June that the hypoxic zone — an area with little to no oxygen to support marine life — would be 12,600 square kilometers, which would have been smaller than the five-year average. The actual size proved far larger.The annual hypoxic zone survey was conducted aboard the R/V Pelican research vessel from July 25 to August 1 by scientists from Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.The researchers gathered data on the dead zone’s location, as well as oxygen and salinity levels. This evidence is vital for NOAA to refine its models and study how to decrease the size of the hypoxic area.A Mississippi shrimp boat heads out of the harbor on the first day of shrimp season in Biloxi, Mississippi on June 3, 2010.The dead zone’s expansion is believed to be driven by pollutant runoff from farms and cities contaminating the Mississippi River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico and stimulates oxygen-consuming algae growth. NOAA aims to minimize the loss of habitat caused by the phenomenon for living resources like commercially harvested fish and diminish the hypoxic zone’s influence on local economies.The Interagency Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force utilizes the survey’s data to evaluate nutrient runoff and create solutions to lessen contaminants in the watershed. The Hypoxia Task Force collaborates with local farmers and corporations to execute water quality projects.“Our nation’s farmers provide the food, the fuel, the fiber, that sustains our families, that sustain our nation, and they are true leaders in environmental stewardship and water management,” said Radhika Fox, co-chair of the Hypoxia Task Force.Government investments assist in the task force’s goal of reducing the dead zone, like the USDA’s $38 million contribution to small watersheds, and Section 319 of the Clean Water Act that provides grants to professionals who seek to mitigate waterway pollutants.According to Nancy Rabalais of Louisiana State University and principal investigator of the survey, the effects of climate change could alter the dead zone. Rabalais stated that rising temperatures and greater precipitation will increase the Gulf’s “stratification, or the layering of the surface layer over the bottom layer, making that difference much stronger and preventing oxygen from the surface getting back down to the bottom.”Forecasting methods used by NOAA to measure the hypoxic zone may be impacted by climate change because of their reliance on average coastal weather conditions. Current practices may require adaptation as ocean temperatures rise and extreme weather events increase.
…
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday people engaged in indoor activities including fitness clubs, bars and restaurants will be required to be vaccinated, beginning later this month, the first major city in the United States to make such a requirement. At a news conference, De Blasio said the city will create a Key to NYC Pass, available by providing proof of vaccination. The new policy will be phased in over few weeks, during which time the city will coordinate with the business community and educate the community on the process, with the final details to be announced and implemented the week of August 16. FILE – New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks to people as he gives away face masks for using in public spaces to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), May 16, 2020.The new rule will require all workers as well as patrons of businesses to be vaccinated. De Blasio has focused on getting as many New Yorkers vaccinated as possible while resisting calls to mandate masks indoors, as several cities and counties in California have done. De Blasio also said Monday he was making “a strong recommendation” that everyone wear a mask in public indoor settings but stressed that the city’s “overwhelming strategic thrust” remained getting more people vaccinated. Official data indicate about 66% of adults in New York City are fully vaccinated. The announcement comes a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a mandate requiring all frontline workers in state hospitals get vaccinated or find new positions off the front line.
…
The U.S. space agency, NASA, and aerospace company Boeing said they have scrubbed the launch of the company’s Starliner spacecraft for the second time in a week.In a release, Boeing said the launch of the Starliner crew capsule onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket was scrubbed after a prelaunch check indicated an “unexpected valve position” in the propulsion system. Liftoff had been scheduled for 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday.The capsule, designed to carry up to seven crew and passengers, was to be test-launched unmanned to the International Space Station (ISS).The Boeing crew capsule had first been scheduled to launch last Friday, but that launch was postponed after the Russian lab module, Nauka, caused chaos at the space station. The Russian module unexpectedly fired its thrusters, which tilted the space station 45 degrees outside its typical orientation.The Starliner launch is seen as an opportunity for Boeing to redeem itself following an aborted initial test launch of the space craft in December 2019. NASA officials say a software problem sent the capsule into the wrong orbit and was not able to reach the ISS.In the company’s statement, Boeing’s commercial crew program manager John Vollmer, said, “We’re disappointed with today’s outcome and the need to reschedule our Starliner launch. Human spaceflight is a complex, precise and unforgiving endeavor, and Boeing and NASA teams will take the time they need to ensure the safety and integrity of the spacecraft and the achievement of our mission objectives.”NASA says Boeing’s next available launch attempt will be Wednesday at 12:57 EDT.
…
Ghanaian lawmakers are facing backlash over a bill before Ghana’s parliament that aims to make gay rights advocacy illegal.Eight lawmakers are sponsoring the bill, which was introduced in parliament Monday. The bill would impose a maximum 10-year prison sentence on people who support and advocate for same-sex and gay rights. Individuals or groups would also not be allowed to provide social or medical support to LGBTQ+ people. Word of the bill had spread in recent weeks even before it was officially presented, prompting outrage among many Ghanaians. Kwasi Prempeh, the head of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, which defends gay rights, told VOA the bill is a distraction. “We’re in almost a post-COVID situation and there are a lot of challenges to deal with,” Prempeh said. “This is not the kind of distraction we need at this time. And unfortunately, it is being foisted on us by these crusaders who really will not stop.” Prempeh added that even if the bill is passed, it will be legally challenged. “In parliament it may well pass, but I doubt very much it will survive executive scrutiny, hopefully not,” Prempeh said. “If it does get presidential assent, I’m almost certain that it will be challenged judicially.” But opposition lawmaker Sam George, who is leading the effort to pass the bill, said it is not aimed at infringing on the sexual preference of individuals as long as they do not force it on others. “I don’t care what you do in the confines of your room or the privacy of your home,” George said. “But when you want to make that a way of life, when you then want to demand that the rest of us accept your perversion and when you want to demand that the rest of us accept to your way of life and target our children, then we’re not going to allow you to do that.” FILE – A police officer stands guard before the bail hearing of 21 people who were detained by police and accused of unlawful assembly and promoting an LGBTQ agenda, in Ho, Volta region, Ghana, June 4, 2021.In January, police raided Ghana’s first LGBTQ+ community center in Accra. Twenty-one gay rights advocates are now on trial after having been arrested at a workshop for allegedly championing LGBTQ+ rights. The head of LGBTQ+ Rights Ghana, Alex Kofi Donkor, described the bill as backward and wants the international community to pressure the government to withdraw it. “This is simply absurd and simply unacceptable in the 21st century,” Donkor said. “I think this is the time that organizations and countries that believe in human rights begin to speak out about this hate bill that is being introduced in Ghana. Ghana needs to be called out on the international level.” In coming weeks, the Constitutional and Legal Committee of Ghana’s parliament plans to consult the general public for possible amendments.
…
Wildfires scorching some of Turkey’s most popular destinations have upended a nascent recovery in the country’s tourism sector hobbled for more than a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.Scenes of happy beachgoers flocking to coastal areas turned nightmarish as fires forced mass-evacuations of tourists and locals alike in cities such as Bodrum and Marmaris.Tuesday marked the seventh consecutive day Turkish firefighters battled the blazes, fueled by abnormally high summer temperatures and strong winds. The fires have been blamed for at least eight deaths and forced numerous residents, many of them farmers, to flee. 10,000 Flee Turkey Wildfires; Greece Power Grid Threatened At least 8 people have been killed in Turkey since Wednesday; EU sends firefighters Beyond physical destruction, the economic impact is already costly.“We are devastated,” said Huseyin Aydin of Bordum Tour, a travel agency that books boating excursions in the Mediterranean Sea. “All the routes for the boat tours have been canceled as of now, and they will also be canceled into next year because all the nature sightseeing parts of our tours are completely burned.”Aydin told VOA his business will have to shift to other tourist ventures or risk shutting completely.
Elsewhere in the country, things look less grim.Tourists visit the 150A.D Roman temple dedicated to Apollo the Greek and Roman god of music, harmony and light, in Antalya, southern Turkey, June 20, 2021In Istanbul, crowds of tourists can be seen strolling the streets after the Turkish government lifted almost all pandemic-related restrictions to boost economic activity and stimulate the country’s vital tourism sector.
“It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience,” said Tania Nel, a resident of Qatar who has spent almost a month traveling Turkey.“It was a country that I could enter easily, with just a PCR [COVID test], and obtain a visa for online. I’ve always wanted to see Turkey and, with other countries being closed, it seemed like a very obvious choice,” she told VOA. “Things being comparatively cheap here also meant I could stay longer and see quite a lot of regions in the country.”Turkey sought to remain an international tourist destination throughout the pandemic, requiring only a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country and exempting foreigners from some restrictions, such as curfews and travel limitations within the country. Nel said ease of access drew her to Turkey.“I had originally planned to travel to South Africa in July to see my family, but they experienced a spike in cases and stricter restrictions, hence the decision to come to Turkey,” Nel said, who is originally from Cape Town, South Africa.Lagging recoveryTurkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism says incoming foreigners in June of this year barely topped 2 million, less than half the total recorded in June 2019 which saw over 5 million foreign visitors.That hits especially hard in Turkey, where tourism is a key contributor to the national economy. The Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation describes Turkey’s tourism economy as “one of Turkey’s most dynamic and fastest growing sectors,” accounting for more than two million jobs and more than 7% of total employment.Arriving tourists report receiving especially warm greetings by cash-strapped hospitality workers.“They welcomed all tourists like royalty,” Nel said.
Low tourism levels have capped the economic stimulation usually expected during the summer. Many businesses report continued and intense financial hardship.“We are in a really hard time economically at the moment,” said Turgay Karahan, who owns two gift shops in an area of Istanbul frequented by tourists.Foreign tourists visit Buyukada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara, off Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2021.
A lack of customers forced Karahan to let employees go and work longer hours for a fraction of pre-pandemic earnings.
“We’re working more but we’re also earning less. Most of the money we make is spent on taxes and rent. Therefore, as an employer I am in a very hard spot,” Karahan told VOA.Numerous cafes, restaurants, and bars in Istanbul and elsewhere have permanently closed since the pandemic first struck.
Karahan spoke wistfully of the throngs of tourists that used to pack into his gift shops.“In the past, Turks felt like foreigners on this street because so many international tourists were here. Before the pandemic, you’d see tourists from England, Germany, France, Italy all crowding the streets in the summer. Nowadays, it’s not like this at all,” he said.
Lost earningsThe financial pain is also felt by Kuzey Yucehan, who owns a restaurant around the corner from Galata Tower, a top Istanbul tourist attraction.Staff at Kuzey Yucehan’s restaurant Art Smyrna are seen setting up freshly repainted tables to attract customers during an otherwise sluggish summer tourism season in Istanbul (VOA/ Salim Fayeq)
“For months we were only operating for takeaway [orders], but the business that brought was not sustainable. Because of that, we have many problems with making ends meet and being profitable,” Yucehan told VOA, adding that many businesses have had to fend for themselves.
“Although in the media the government presented themselves as helpful and generous toward businesses in Turkey, we did not receive any financial relief as an independent business,” Yucehan said. “We hope that COVID passes and the world will get back to normal soon.”This report includes some information from Reuters.
…
The White House announced Tuesday the U.S. has shipped more than 110 million doses of U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines to more than 60 nations.In a statement, the White House said most of the vaccine was shipped through the World Health Organization–managed COVAX cooperative, but also through regional partnerships, such as the African Union and Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The White House said the donations reflect a fulfillment of President Joe Biden’s pledge to give at least 80 million vaccine doses to other nations around the globe, and the doses are a down payment on the “hundreds of millions of more doses that the U.S. will deliver in the coming weeks.”The statement says the Biden administration will begin shipping half-a-billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to 100 of the world’s low-income countries.Biden is expected to discuss the donations milestone and other efforts later Tuesday.The president’s announcement will come amid an increase in infections in the U.S. and around the world, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.
…
With worries of a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections overwhelming the country’s hospitals, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Tuesday that only seriously ill coronavirus patients or those at risk of becoming so will be admitted for treatment. Others infected with COVID-19 will have to isolate at home in order to try to make sure there are enough beds available. Japan is adding about 10,000 new cases per day, prompting the head of the Japan Medical Association to call Tuesday for a nationwide state of emergency. Residents wait at the observation area during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination session for those aged between 12 and 14, in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China, Aug. 3, 2021. (China Daily via Reuters)In China, authorities said Tuesday all residents of Wuhan will be tested after the city recorded its first domestic infections in more than a year. The virus was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019, and the city of 11 million people was put under a strict lockdown in January 2020 that lasted 76 days. As many countries worry about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, South Korean health officials on Tuesday reported the country’s first two cases of a sublineage known as delta plus. Britain, Portugal and India are among countries that previously reported a few cases of delta plus infections. Hundreds of people line up to receive their second dose of vaccine against the coronavirus at the municipal ground in Hyderabad, India, July 29, 2021.The World Health Organization has said it is important to closely watch such changes in the virus that could be more resistant to drugs and vaccines, and for more genomic sequencing of COVID-19 tests for tracking and studying. Countries are also rushing to vaccinate their populations to drive down infections. Pakistan’s top health official reported Tuesday that the country had administered 1 million doses in one day for the first time. Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi began a partial lockdown on Saturday with a wave of cases putting pressure on its health care system. In Australia, authorities said a lockdown in Sydney could be allowed to expire at the end of the month if half of the city is vaccinated by then. Australian airline Qantas expressed less optimism Tuesday, saying it expects the restrictions in Sydney to be in place for at least two months and announcing furloughs for 2,500 of its 26,000 workers in Australia. More restrictions in USIn the United States, more jurisdictions are requiring employees to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing as the country grapples with a rise of infections blamed on the delta variant. FILE – People wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as the delta variant has led to a surge in infections, in New York City, July 30, 2021.Denver, Colorado, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Monday the city will mandate all city employees and private sector workers in high-risk settings to be vaccinated against the virus by the end of September. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said state health care workers, along with workers in corrections facilities or assisted living centers, must be vaccinated or face testing twice a week. In New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged businesses to turn away unvaccinated customers. He said it is in businesses’ best interests because many customers want to know that the customer next to them is vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that 70% of U.S. adults have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine. President Joe Biden had originally aimed to pass that milestone by July 4. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, AFP and Reuters.
…
Huan Huan, a giant panda on loan to France, gave birth to twin cubs very early Monday, according to the Beauval zoo. The twins, born around 1 a.m., are Huan Huan and her partner Yuan Zi’s second and third cubs, after the first panda ever born in France, Yuan Meng, in 2017. “The two babies are pink. They are perfectly healthy. They look big enough. They are magnificent,” said Rodolphe Delord, president of ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, central France. WATCH: Using Pandas for DiplomacySorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 16 MB480p | 23 MB540p | 33 MB720p | 74 MB1080p | 134 MBOriginal | 725 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioPanda reproduction, in captivity or in the wild, is notoriously difficult. Experts say few pandas get in the mood or even know what to do when they do. Further complicating matters, the window for conception is small since female pandas are in heat only once a year for about 24-48 hours. Huan Huan and her partner Yuan Zi — the star attractions at Beauval — thrilled zoo officials in March when they managed to make “contact,” as they put it, eight times in a weekend. Veterinarians also carried out an artificial insemination, just to be sure. Huan Huan’s first cub, Yuan Meng, now weighs more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and is to be sent this year to China, where there are an estimated 1,800 giant pandas living in the wild and another 500 in captivity. Huan Huan’s newborns will not be named for 100 days, with Peng Liyuan — the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping — set to choose what they will be called, the zoo said.
…
A new study suggests Earth’s supply of oxygen developed thanks to the planet’s gradually slowing rotation creating longer days that allowed a certain form of algae to admit more oxygen as a byproduct of its metabolic process.The study, published Monday in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, suggests that about 2.4 billion years ago there was so little oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, it could barely be measured, so no animal or plant life as we know it could exist.Much of the life on Earth consisted of tiny microbes, among them, a blue-green form of algae called cyanobacteria, which breathed in carbon dioxide and exhaled oxygen in the earliest form of photosynthesis.The researchers say about 400 million years ago, the Earth took a relatively enormous leap in the amount of oxygen in its atmosphere, growing from nearly imperceptible levels to one-tenth the amount of oxygen it has now.The researchers suggest the Earth’s rotation, which has been gradually slowing over time, lengthened days from about six hours to about the current 24 hours. The longer days provided more sunlight for the cyanobacteria to produce enough oxygen to give the planet breathable air.The scientists reached their conclusion by studying microbes found growing in a sinkhole under 80 feet of water in Lake Huron, off the coast of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bacteria exist in an oxygen-poor environment similar to the single-celled cyanobacteria that formed matlike colonies billions of years ago, which carpeted both land and seafloor surfaces.This June 19, 2019 photo provided by NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary shows purple microbial mats in the Middle Island Sinkhole in Lake Huron, Michigan.The researchers dredged up the bacteria from the sinkhole and tinkered with how much light it got in lab experiments. The more continuous light the microbes got, the more oxygen they produced.That finding, in turn, points to a previously unconsidered link between Earth’s oxygenation history and its rotation rate.The scientists say their models show that this proposed mechanism might help explain the pattern of Earth’s oxygenation, as well as the persistence of low-oxygen periods through most of the planet’s history.Some information in this report came from the Associated Press.
…