WHO SUSPENDS trials of Trump-chosen hydroxychloroquine drug over SAFETY RISKS for Covid-19 patients

The World Health Organization has paused the clinical trials of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus patients. It says the drug, notably taken and endorsed by US President Donald Trump, has raised safety concerns.

The drug’s safety data is being reviewed by a monitoring board, and the trials have been put on hold, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. It was being tested as part of the Solidarity international program aimed at tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UN heath body took the step out of “abundance of caution,” said Mike Ryan, the head of the organization’s emergencies program.

https://www.rt.com/news/489724-who-drops-hydroxychloroquine-risks/

Irish PM criticized for appearing to violate his own social distancing guidelines during Sunday picnic

Not a great look

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was harshly criticized by many in Ireland for appearing to violate his government's social distancing guidelines during a Sunday picnic in Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Varadkar's apparent indiscretion was first publicized by a Twitter user who first tweeted about Varadkar, who was alleged to be partying with a group of four who were not at least 2 meters apart, at a location more than 5 kilometers from Varadkar's residence. In order to prove his point, the Twitter user then included video.

The tweets no longer appear available on a live account, but screenshots of the tweets were carried by multiple media outlets and Varadkar's office has confirmed that the photographs were genuine and that he was, in fact, at Phoenix Park on the day in question.

At issue is the fact that Ireland remains under very strict social distancing rules, including rules that forbid any travel of more than 5 kilometers away from a person's residence, and rules forbidding anyone in Ireland from coming within 2 meters of any other person in public. Phoenix Park is approximately 8 kilometers away from Varadkar's residence.

In defense of his actions, Varadkar's office stated that during the course of the pandemic, Varadkar is staying in the semi-official residence that is available to the Irish PM, which is less than 5 km away from Phoenix Park. A statement from Varadkar's office claims that Varadkar was "complying fully" with his office's guidelines, notwithstanding the photographs that appeared to show the four men being clearly less than two meters apart.

As one Irish website, which ripped him for "yucking it up in the Phoenix Park yesterday while thousands have died in nursing homes and their families banned from attending the funerals," noted: "This man is the leader of our country and the architect of the social distancing regulations that have separated families (some of us haven't seen our mothers since Christmas) and caused the public to endure immense personal and economic hardship. And yet there he is, out in the park, without a care in the world and being cavalier at best about the regulations he expects the rest of us to follow."

Varadkar is already on the way out as prime minister after his party finished third in the Feb. 8 general election. Varadkar is serving, effectively, as a caretaker prime minister until a successor can be appointed, which is complicated by the fact that the leading popular vote getter in the elections was the controversial party Sinn Fein, whereas both other major parties have publicly pledged to refuse to form a coalition government with Sinn Fein.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/leo-varadkar-social-distance-coronavirus

Top EU diplomat: ‘end of American-led’ world order and rise of China ‘happening before our eyes’

BERLIN (AP) – The European Union’s top diplomat has called for the bloc to have a “more robust strategy” toward China amid signs that Asia is replacing the United States as the centre of global power.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a gathering of German ambassadors on Monday that “analysts have long talked about the end of an American-led system and the arrival of an Asian century.”

“This is now happening in front of our eyes,” he said.

Borrell said the pandemic could be seen as a turning point in the power shift from West to East, and that for the EU the “pressure to choose sides is growing.”

He said the 27-nation bloc “should follow our own interests and values and avoid being instrumentalized by one or the other.”

But while China’s rise was “impressive,” Borrell said current relations between the Brussels and Beijing weren’t always based on trust, transparency and reciprocity.

Borrell said “we only have a chance if we deal with China with collective discipline,” noting that an upcoming EU-China summit this fall could be an opportunity to do so.

“We need a more robust strategy for China, which also requires better relations with the rest of democratic Asia,” he added.

Speaking at the same conference, held by videolink this year due to the pandemic, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas echoed Borrell’s call for greater transparency from China, an issue that has come to the fore over Beijing’s information policy during the early stages of the virus outbreak.

Germany takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in July.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/top-eu-diplomat-end-of-american-led-world-order-and-rise-of-china-happening-before-our-eyes/

Labour MP Fired for Highlighting ‘British Pakistani Men Raping White Girls’ Joins Grooming Gangs Review

A Labour MP fired from the shadow government by Jeremy Corbyn for calling out Pakistani-heritage rapists targeting white girls will help review a government report into the ethnic background of grooming gangs.

Sarah Champion, MP for the rape gang-blighted town of Rotherham, Yorkshire, will help to review a government report into the “characteristics” of grooming gangs, which have repeatedly been found to be made up overwhelmingly of Muslim men, usually of Pakistani heritage victimising overwhelmingly non-Muslim girls, usually white working class.

Champion was one of the few figures on the political left to call for the racial elements of the grooming gangs phenomenon to be confronted — elements which saw the crimes ignored by police, social workers, and other authority figures for years because they feared being accused of racism if they tackled them.

“Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls. There. I said it. Does that make me a racist? Or am I just prepared to call out this horrifying problem for what it is?” Champion wrote in an article for the right-leaning Sun in 2017.

“For too long we have ignored the race of these abusers and, worse, tried to cover it up. No more. These people are predators and the common denominator is their ethnic heritage. We have to have grown-up conversations,” she pleaded.

Evidently, then-party leader Jeremy Corbyn did not agree, swiftly firing her from her frontbench role in his shadow administration.

Corbyn’s supposedly more moderate successor, Sir Keir Starmer, has not rehired her — indeed, he recently promoted an Asian-heritage MP who once liked and shared a tweet saying “abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths. For the good of diversity” to be his Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/25/labour-mp-fired-for-highlighting-british-pakistani-men-raping-white-girls-joins-grooming-gangs-review/

‘Brazen power grab’: GOP sues California Gov. Newsom over plan to send mail-in ballots to ALL registered voters

Republicans have filed a lawsuit to overturn the California Governor’s executive order, that will see every voter receive an absentee ballot for the November election, denouncing it as a “direct assault” on the vote’s integrity.

"In a direct usurpation of the legislature's authority, Governor [Gavin] Newsom issued an executive order purporting to rewrite the entire election code for the November 2020 election cycle," the lawsuit, which was filed on Sunday, reads.

Slamming Newsom’s decision to mail ballots to all registered voters, which means that inactive voters will also be covered by the scheme, the plaintiffs - The Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and California Republican Party - argued the executive order provides fertile ground for widespread fraud.

https://www.rt.com/usa/489647-california-lawsuit-mail-voting-newsom/

CA Secretary of State on GOP’s Vote-by-Mail Lawsuit: We Won’t Let Virus Be ‘Exploited’ for Voter Suppression

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) responded Sunday evening to Republicans’ lawsuit against the state to block Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) recent vote-by-mail order, suggesting the move is a “political smear campaign” by President Donald Trump, designed to use the Chinese coronavirus pandemic for voter suppression.

“Expanding vote-by-mail during a pandemic is not a partisan issue — it’s a moral imperative to protect voting rights and public safety. Vote-by-mail has been used safely and effectively in red, blue, and purple states for years,” Padilla wrote on social media. “This lawsuit is just another part of Trump’s political smear campaign against voting by mail. We will not let this virus be exploited for voter suppression.”

Earlier Sunday, the Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and California Republican Party (CRP) sued Newsom and Padilla, alleging an executive order mandating that all state registered voters receive mail-in ballots is an “illegal power grab.”

“In a direct usurpation of the legislature’s authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order purporting to rewrite the entire election code for the November 2020 election cycle,” the lawsuit reads. “This brazen power grab was not authorized by state law and violates both the Elections Clause and Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

The complaint alleges that Newsom has “created a recipe for disaster” that could possibly invite voter fraud.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

“Democrats continue to use this pandemic as a ploy to implement their partisan election agenda, and Governor Newsom’s executive order is the latest direct assault on the integrity of our elections,” RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said of the suit. “Newsom’s illegal power grab is a recipe for disaster that would destroy the confidence Californians deserve to have in the security of their vote.”

The suit was filed hours before President Trump accused Democrats of attempting to use the pandemic to push mail-in ballot plans for the November election, warning the move will lead to “the greatest Rigged Election in history.”

“The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and “force” people to sign,” the president tweeted. “Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/25/california-secretary-state-gops-vote-by-mail-lawsuit-we-wont-let-virus-be-exploited-voter-suppression/

Race you, NASA!: China confirms July launch of first Mars rover, which rivals Perseverance mission

With a window of opportunity to send robots to Mars opening in July, Beijing plans to launch its Tianwen-1 mission sooner rather than later, and it may come ahead of NASA’s Mars 2020 expedition.

The two scientific missions to the Red Planet both involve deploying a rover on its surface, but for Beijing, it will be a first attempt to do so. The Chinese mission may start slightly ahead of the American one, however. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said on Sunday that it is targeting a July launch for the Long March 5 Y4, which is to deliver an orbiter and a rover to Mars.

NASA’s Mars 2020 launch is scheduled for sometime between July 17 and August 5. In addition to the rover Perseverance, it plans to deliver a small aerial surveillance drone called Ingenuity, which will scout places for the rover to explore, and how to get there.

The Chinese mission is part of efforts to catch up and race ahead of other advanced space-program nations. The most challenging part of it is landing on Mars – a task that China’s engineers met with a combination of a parachute system, retroactive thrusters and an airbag for the final leg. The European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander attempted to land on Mars’s surface in 2016, but crashed due to a computer glitch.

https://www.rt.com/news/489680-china-mars-mission-july/

Italy: 400 North African migrants land illegally in Sicily

Roughly 400 North African migrants illegally disembarked on Sunday afternoon on the beach of Palma di Montechiar in Sicily. A mass landing of this size hasn’t occurred in Italy for years.

After being dropped off a few meters from the beach by the mother ship, the migrants dispersed into small groups and attempted to blend in with the normal population. Some were seen walking along the highway while others ran to the countryside area, La Stampa reports.

Police, carabinieri, and a military helicopter managed to track down and arrest about sixty of the migrants.

A few hours earlier, a group of 52 migrants from sub-Saharan African disembarked illegally on the island of Linosa, the smallest of the Pelagie islands. According to reports, all were detained by the carabinieri. They’re expected to be transferred to Lampedusa in the coming days.

On Saturday, two boats carrying a total of 46 Tunisian migrants were escorted to Lampedusa by coast guard patrol boats. All were disembarked at the Favaloro pier.

The same day, the Gurdia di Finanza – a militarized police force which operates under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance – intercepted three small boats carrying a total of 27 off the coast of Trapani, a city in western Sicily.

Between January 1st and May 22nd of this year, 4,445 migrant landings have taken place in Italy, compared to 1,361 in the same period of 2019. That’s more than a 300 percent increase in a single year.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/italy-400-north-african-migrants-land-illegally-in-sicily/

Loudspeaker Islamic Call to Prayer May Become Permanent Fixture in Britain

Mosques across Great Britain could begin daily broadcasts of the Islamic call to prayer through loudspeakers after they were given special dispensation to play the adhan in the holy month of Ramadan.

Some 25 mosques in London and dozens more throughout the country began to use public address systems to connect with Muslims last month as they were unable to attend religious services during the coronavirus crisis.

The scheme was started by the London council of Kensington and Chelsea, which gave permission to the Al-Manaar mosque — the largest mosque in the borough — to begin broadcasting the Islamic message every night during Ramadan, an act that was previously illegal under noise pollution laws.

The move was picked up by the Waltham Forest Council in north-east London, which allowed nine mosques to play the call to prayer through loudspeakers every night and twice on Fridays to mark the Jumu’ah — the Friday prayer celebrated by Muslims) — according to the Mail on Sunday.

The Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Elizabeth Campbell, claimed that “We’ve had a really positive response overall” from local constituents.

On Friday, the call to prayer was performed in London’s Canary Wharf, one of the country’s top financial centres.

With the end of Ramadan, local Islamic groups are seeking to make the call to prayer a permanent fixture of life in the United Kingdom.

The imam at the Minhaj-ul-Quran mosque in Newham, East London, Allama Sadiq Qureshi, said that the Newham Muslim Forum, which represents Islamic organisations throughout the city, will be making an application following Ramadan, saying: “We want this practice to continue in the future.”

“Just one symbolic adhan per day, if Newham council allow us. Just one adhan at the day time, at dhuhr [afternoon prayer], then it will be really good,” Qureshi went on.

The Waltham Forest Islamic Association (WFIA) which played the call to prayer so loud that it could be heard within a one-mile radius of the mosque, has also called for the practice to continue.

Raja Ilyas, the general secretary of WFIA said: “My wish is that if we can recite adhan at least at Jumu’ah or one time [per day], but it’s my wish. I can’t force my wish on anybody, especially on the local council and local residents – it’s my wish being a Muslim.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/25/islamic-call-to-prayer-broadcast-on-loudspeakers-in-great-britain/

‘Treating people like sheep’: Bishops let loose on BoJo in storm of Twitter criticism over Cummings row

Church of England bishops are joining the chorus of criticism directed at Boris Johnson over his handling of top adviser Dominic Cummings’ rule-breaking 260-mile lockdown trip to Durham, with one saying the PM “lacked integrity.”

Johnson threw his support behind Cummings over the April trip from London to his parents’ home in Durham with his infected wife in tow. The revelations have prompted calls for the chief aide’s immediate resignation, as the public grows weary of abiding by ongoing lockdown restrictions – in contrast, it seems, to government advisers.

Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, tweeted that the public were being "patronised and treated as mugs.” Bishop of Ripon Helen-Ann Hartley also let loose at the pair for their “misguided ideology of power that has total disregard for the most weak and vulnerable,” as well as NHS staff who work to protect people for low pay.

https://www.rt.com/uk/489678-bishops-criticize-johnson-cummings/

PHOTOS: Joe Biden Makes First In-Person Appearance in over 2 Months

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday made his first in-person appearance in over two months by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware residence for Memorial Day.

Biden, the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee, along with his wife, former second lady Dr. Jill Biden, both wore black masks as they laid the wreath.

“Never forget the sacrifices that these men and women made. Never, ever, ever forget,” Biden told reporters, with his voice muffled by his mask.

“It feels good to be out of my house,” he added.

Since the Chinese coronavirus began, Biden has swapped live campaign stops for virtual events from Wilmington home, with the shift yielding a series of awkward moments for the gaffe-prone candidate.

In neighboring Maryland, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participated in a Memorial Day ceremony at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

“To every Gold Star Family here today and all across our land, our debt to you is infinite and everlasting. We stand with you today and all days to come,” the president said in his prepared speech.

Earlier Monday, President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/25/photos-joe-biden-makes-first-in-person-appearance-in-over-2-months/

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Israel urges Twitter to boot Iranian leader after his ‘eliminate Israel’ tweets

Strategic affairs minister sends letter to social media giant accusing Ali Khamenei of breaking its rules, promoting anti-Semitism

Israel on Monday asked Twitter to immediately suspend the account of Iran’s supreme leader from the social media platform for what it described as “anti-Semitic and genocidal” messages posted by Ayatolah Ali Khamenei.

Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey calling for the “immediate suspension” of Khamenei’s account “over his consistent posting of anti-Semitic and genocidal posts,” her ministry said in a statement.

“Examples of such include Khamenei calling for the ‘elimination’ of the ‘Zionist entity’ while asserting the ‘Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous growth,’ which must ‘be uprooted and destroyed.’ He also compared Israel to the deadly coronavirus, ‘the Zionist regime is a reality that the region must come to terms with. Today the #Covid_19 is a reality; should it be accepted or fought?!… Zionism will be uprooted,’” the letter read.

Khamenei was panned last week for sharing a poster showing people celebrating at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem after apparently capturing it from Israel as a Palestinian flag is raised over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. “Palestine Will Be Free. The final solution: Resistance until referendum,” the text on the poster says.

After Israeli and American leaders accused him of encouraging genocide — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was “echoing Hitler’s call for genocide” — Khamenei tweeted that he seeks Israel’s destruction but not the annihilation of all Jews.

On Sunday, he again used the platform to call for “eliminating Israel.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-seeking-to-get-iranian-supreme-leader-kicked-off-twitter/

36 Shot, 9 Dead in CHICAGO Over Memorial Day Weekend

In more news that the mainstream media continues to not cover, we’re horrified to have to do it.

Chicago, known as a liberal hell hole is yet again having another massive outbreak of shootings over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

More than 36 people were shot, and 9 dead according to police in the city.

The dead are among at least 36 people shot from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, according to data kept by the Chicago Tribune.

With a day still to go in the long weekend, the number of shootings is approaching 2019′s total despite a coronavirus stay-at-home order, Saturday’s severe storms and added police patrols.

https://thedcpatriot.com/36-shot-9-dead-in-chicago-over-memorial-day-weekend/

Victim of a left-wing coup? Why Netanyahu’s conspiracy theory is foul and absurd

PM claims cops, prosecutors et al want to oust him for ideological reasons. But his predecessor, Olmert, was also prosecuted. And he was set to cede settlements, parts of Jerusalem

Honed over more than two years of attacks on the pillars of Israel’s democracy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s incendiary assault on his accusers shortly before the start of his corruption trial Sunday was a brilliantly calculated assertion of innocence and victimhood.

Its core thesis, that a strong, pro-annexation, right-wing prime minister is facing an illicit attempt — perpetrated by a vast, leftist alliance of politicians, media, cops and state prosecutors — to oust him because of his ideology and policies, is also demonstrably ridiculous.

It relies on his audience becoming so swept along by the prime minister’s rhetoric — his calibrated mix of grievance and determination, and his citing of numerous ostensible flaws, failures, cover-ups and conspiracies in the marshaling of the “absurd” and “fabricated” charges against him, reinforced on Sunday by the sight of all those mute Likud ministers publicly identifying with his cause — as to forget the gaping logical hole at its center.

It relies, apparently to considerable effect, on short memories.

For it is the fate of Netanyahu’s immediate predecessor Ehud Olmert — the former Likud mayor of Jerusalem and Likud MK and minister, turned Kadima MK, minister and prime minister — that exposes the emptiness at the heart of Netanyahu’s inflammatory allegation that a leftist establishment is engaged in an attempted political coup.

Olmert’s was initially a career of singular political success. He won election to the Knesset at the tender age of 28; rose to ministerial office; left parliament after Likud’s 1992 defeat to Labor’s Yitzhak Rabin in order to successfully challenge Jerusalem’s legendary mayor Teddy Kollek, becoming the first Likud politician to run the capital; and then returned to the Knesset a decade later where he continued his rise all the way to acting prime minister under Ariel Sharon.

More

https://www.timesofisrael.com/victim-of-a-left-wing-coup-why-netanyahus-conspiracy-theory-is-foul-and-absurd/

Netanyahu said to tell Likud MKs: West Bank annexation on for July

At weekly faction meeting, prime minister says he has a date in mind and won’t change it; also cautions a second, deadlier coronavirus wave could be on the way

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has set a July date for when Israel will extend its sovereignty to areas of the West Bank, and informed his Likud lawmakers he has no intention of changing it, Hebrew media reported.

At the opening of his Likud faction’s weekly meeting at the Knesset, Netanyahu said there has never been a better time in the country’s history to apply sovereignty, which is tantamount to annexation, to these areas.

“We have an opportunity that hasn’t existed since 1948 to apply sovereignty in a wise way and as a diplomatic step in Judea and Samaria, and we will not let this opportunity pass,” Netanyahu said, referring to the year the State of Israel was established and using the biblical names for the West Bank territory.

Later, during the part of the meeting that was closed to media, Netanyahu told the gathered MKs, “We have a target date in July to apply sovereignty and we will not change it,” according to Hebrew media reports.

The move would be coordinated with the US, in accordance with the Middle East plan US President Donald Trump unveiled in January, which endorsed extending Israeli sovereignty over roughly 30 percent of the West Bank.

However, the entire peace plan has been rejected by the Palestinians, who seek the West Bank as territory for a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced last week that he was cutting off all security cooperation with Israel because of Netanyahu’s declared intentions to annex settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley.

There has also been increasing concern — and warnings to Israel — from the international community against annexation.

In recent days even Trump administration officials have appeared to seek to dampen expectations that Washington will quickly green-light the move without any progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The State Department’s chief spokesperson said earlier this month that any action should be part of discussions between Israel and the Palestinians on the Trump administration’s peace plan.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-said-to-tell-likud-lawmakers-west-bank-annexation-on-for-july/

Sixth Name On NYT's List Of 'Coronavirus Victims' is 27-Yr-Old Man Who Was Murdered

Researchers only had to go six names in to the New York Times' long list of nearly 100,000 "coronavirus victims" to find a person who was murdered rather than killed by the virus.

More

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61468

Of All People to Forget a Mask – VA Governor Northam Goes to the Beach Without One

Of all people caught without a mask, Governor Ralph Northam was sans mask while visiting Virginia Beach on Sunday. He was there to make sure people were properly socially distancing and, if needed, wearing a mask to fight the spread of COVID-219.

The governor plans to announce on Tuesday whether he’ll make masks mandatory, an issue that has especially roiled residents, who want the state to open back up. On Friday he preached that masks “could literally save someone’s life.”

Northam posed for non-socially-distanced selfies without a mask with people who thought it was great the governor was there checking up on them.

For Governor Blackface, as he’s sometimes known due to his medical school antics of dressing up as black people using shoe polish (“…I don’t know if anybody has ever tried that, but you cannot get shoe polish off”), or donning a KKK sheet, failing to wear a mask is especially ironic.

Northam’s spokeswoman said that the governor’s lack of social distancing made it important for him – and everyone – to carry a mask at all times.

“He was outside yesterday and not expecting to be within six feet of anyone. This is an important reminder to always have face coverings in case situations change — we are all learning how to operate in this new normal, and it’s important to be prepared.”

Or, maybe he’s like many politicians who talk up the pandemic threat and don’t live by their own rules, like New York Mayor Bill de Blasio going to the gym, when they were closed to everyone else and the Chicago mayor getting her hair done when salons were closed.

In April, Northam demonstrated the best way to put on masks.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2020/05/25/of-all-people-to-forget-a-mask-va-governor-northam-goes-to-the-beach-without-one-n425205

Volkswagen Dieselgate: VW 'Unethical,' Top German Civil Court Orders Compensation In Emissions Scandal

U.S. regulators found software on VW diesel engines gave false readings during testing

VW recalled 11 million vehicles worldwide in 2015

Billions already have been paid out to motorists but at least 150,000 suits still are pending

Germany’s top civil court on Monday ordered Volkswagen to pay compensation up to the total value of the vehicle to consumers affected by the diesel emissions scandal, ordering the company to pay an estimated 28 billion euros (nearly $30.5 billion).

VW (VOW3.DE) earlier this year established an 830 million euro ($904 million) to compensate car owners caught up in dieselgate, which forced the company to recall more than 11 million vehicles worldwide in 2015 because of software for its EA189 diesel engines that manipulated emissions results. So far, 750 million euros (nearly $817 million) has been paid out from the fund.

Volkswagen settled with U.S. owners for 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) early on after U.S. regulators uncovered the issue. The company also set aside 31 billion euros ($33.8 billion) to cover costs. Settlements also were reached in Canada and Australia. About 90,000 cases are pending in England and Wales.

“The behavior of the defendants is to be deemed unethical,” Stephen Seiters, the presiding judge of the Federal Court of Justice, ruled. The landmark ruling opens the way for German VW owners whose vehicles were equipped with devices that gave false emissions readings during testing to claim compensation.

“For the majority of the 60,000 pending cases, this ruling provides clarity,” Volkswagen said in a press release. “Volkswagen is now seeking to bring these proceedings to a prompt conclusion in agreement with the plaintiffs.”

The ruling stemmed from a case filed by Herbert Gilbert who paid 31,500 euros ($34,311) for a VW Sharan in 2014.

“It is the ruling I was expecting, which not only helps me, but also helps many thousands of plaintiffs who are still waiting in line to end their lawsuits,” Gilbert told reporters after the ruling was issued.

Cases to be heard in July will determine whether owners who bought their vehicles after the scandal broke also are entitled to compensation.

Volkswagen already has settled with 240,000 other German drivers, who will receive as much as 6,250 euros ($6,250) each.

The European Court of Justice is considering the case, as well, and whether newer diesel engines also were manipulated illegally.

https://www.ibtimes.com/volkswagen-dieselgate-vw-unethical-top-german-civil-court-orders-compensation-2982180

Military Situation In Libya On May 25, 2020 (Map Update)

A brief overview of the recent developments in Libya:

Turkey reportedly deployed a MIM-23 Hawk medium-range air defense system in Misrata;

Government of National Accord (GNA) forces carried out intense strikes on Gharyan;

Pro-GNA sources claimed that Russian private military contractors withdrew from Tarhuna;

The Libyan National Army (LNA) claimed that its forces had shot down 13 Turkish drones during the last 3 days;

The LNA’s Chinese-made Wing Loong II was shot down crashed near Bani Waled.

https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-libya-on-may-25-2020-map-update/

Haftar’s Forces Carry Out Wide Airstrike Operation In Response To GNA’s Advance

It is unclear what either of the aircraft transported, but it is likely more equipment and/or troops to assist in the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) recent impetus, owed greatly to the Turkish Armed Forces and militants deployed from Syria.

Meanwhile, the fighting for Bani Walid and Tarhuna hasn’t began yet, as Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s forces appear to be pushing back and holding their positions, after almost entirely retreating from the frontline in Tripoli to secure their vital positions in both cities.

In Bani Walid, a Russian Pantsir-S1 was photographed, active and defending from enemy aircraft.

https://southfront.org/haftars-forces-carry-out-wide-airstrike-operation-in-response-to-gnas-advance/

Japans Lifts Nationwide State Of Emergency

The Japanese government lifted the nationwide state of emergency Monday as COVID-19 cases have decreased across the country, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared the state of emergency in the capital region and some other areas on April 7 and later expanded it to a nationwide order.

He announced at his press briefing Monday that his focus has now shifted to reviving the Japanese economy.

“Every area of the country has met the conditions for ending the emergency, which are extremely strict by global standards,” Abe said. “In Japan’s own way, we have largely brought the infection under control in a month and a half.”

The prime minister mentioned that two extra budgets will provide 200 trillion yen ($1.86 trillion) in economic assistance. The first extra budget implemented a few weeks ago, helped fund a record 117-trillion yen economic stimulus plan, a value equivalent to more than 20 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Lockdowns aren’t legally possible in Japan, according to Bloomberg’s report, so the state of emergency allowed local governments to instruct businesses to either close or operate for shortened hours, and to ask residents to stay home to curb the spread of the virus.

Abe told Japanese citizens to be prepared for a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and added that a state of emergency may have to be reintroduced if that were to happen. The prime minister added that border control will continue to be hardened as the virus continues to spread around the world.

As is the case in the United States, baseball is an extremely popular sport in Japan. Prime Minister Abe said Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Japan’s highest level of pro baseball, will return next month without spectators. He also said concerts could resume as long as crowds consist of less than 100 people.

Japan’s capital Tokyo was scheduled to host the 2020 Summer Olympics between July 24 and August 9. However, the Olympics were rescheduled for July 23 to August 8, 2021 due to the pandemic.

Abe also told the nation that conditions in each region will be reviewed every three weeks to determine whether measures can be loosened further.

Japan has had at least 16,500 coronavirus cases with 13,400 recoveries and 820 deaths as of Monday.

https://saraacarter.com/japans-lifts-nationwide-state-of-emergency/

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