Author: Desk Team

Taking absolute positions on the crisis in Israel and Gaza is easy and comfortable, but ultimately pointless
9Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Taking absolute positions on the crisis in Israel and Gaza is easy and comfortable, but ultimately pointless

Last Saturday, the Jerusalem Post reported that, “Tens of millions of Evangelical Christians are expected to pray for Israel in their churches on Sunday.” Fair enough, but I doubt they also prayed for the people of Gaza, who have little protection against Israel’s bombardment, no iron dome, and already live in appalling conditions. Better, surely, for Christians to pray for justice, peace, a fair and balanced solution, and the dignity of all people in the region, whatever their faith or politics. I say this as an ordained Anglican cleric with three Jewish grandparents, one of them from a Holocaust family. I’ve also spent a great deal of time in Israel, and reported on the 2006 Lebanon War. In other words, I have connection as well as experience. And it breaks my heart when churches turn
Read More
Biden orders more intel investigation of COVID-19 origin
9Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Politics, World

Biden orders more intel investigation of COVID-19 origin

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory. After months of minimizing that possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is joining worldwide pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak, aiming to head off GOP complaints the president has not been tough enough as well as to use the opportunity to press China on alleged obstruction. Biden asked U.S. intelligence agencies to report back within 90 days, and he told reporters on Thursday that he aimed to release their results publicly. The Democrat directed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and the intelligence com
Read More
Biden, South Korea’s Moon ‘deeply concerned’ about NKorea
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Biden, South Korea’s Moon ‘deeply concerned’ about NKorea

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday said he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in remain “deeply concerned” about the situation with North Korea, and announced he will deploy a new special envoy to the region to help refocus efforts on pressing Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Moon, meanwhile, welcomed “America’s return” to the world stage and said both leaders pledged in their meeting to work closely toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Biden told a joint news conference with Moon that he was dispatching career diplomat Sung Kim, who previously served as ambassador to South Korea, to serve as the special envoy to the region. Moon said the move by Biden “reflects the firm commitment of the U.S. for exploring diplomacy and its readiness for dialog
Read More
Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reporting 916 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths; 550 vaccinated front-line health-care workers invited to attend Game 7 of the Leafs-Canadiens series
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, World

Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reporting 916 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths; 550 vaccinated front-line health-care workers invited to attend Game 7 of the Leafs-Canadiens series

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available. 9 p.m. These are the latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 9 p.m Monday. There are 1,381,582 confirmed cases in Canada. Canada: 1,381,582 confirmed cases (33,753 active, 1,322,282 resolved, 25,547 deaths). *The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers. There were 2,118 new cases Monday. The rate of active cases is 88.81 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 18,572 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,653. There were 35 new reported deaths Monday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 274 new reported deaths....
Read More
Pence: I’ll likely never see eye to eye with Trump on Jan. 6
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Pence: I’ll likely never see eye to eye with Trump on Jan. 6

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence says that he isn’t sure that he and former President Donald Trump will ever see “eye to eye” over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would “always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.” Pence, speaking at a Republican dinner Thursday in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, gave his most extensive comments to date on the events of Jan. 6, when angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” after the vice president said he did not have the power to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. “As I said that day, Jan. 6 was a dark day in history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the swift action of the Capitol Police and federal law enforceme
Read More
RCMP begin crackdown on Fairy Creek blockade
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

RCMP begin crackdown on Fairy Creek blockade

Fairy Creek old-growth activists are worried the RCMP will move into protest camps and make arrests with impunity while denying media and other legal observers the ability to scrutinize their enforcement of an injunction order on southwestern Vancouver Island. On Monday morning, the RCMP launched the first phase of operations to enforce a court injunction involving protesters who have been blocking access to various stands of ancient rainforest for more than eight months within the Teal-Jones tree farm licence (TFL) 46 near Port Renfrew. Police have set up a “temporary access control area” to begin enforcement of the court order, RCMP said in a statement issued Monday. The temporary measure will limit entry into the region to ensure Teal-Jones can commence and complete its operations in
Read More
Thais land in Dubai, pass Covid-19 test ahead of Doha 2022 qualifiers
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, World

Thais land in Dubai, pass Covid-19 test ahead of Doha 2022 qualifiers

Thais land in Dubai, pass Covid-19 test ahead of Doha 2022 qualifiers Raring to go: Thailand players at Suvarnabhumi airport. The War Elephants on Saturday landed in Dubai hoping to make up the lost ground before their remaining three Group G matches of the second Asian qualifying stage for the 2022 Fifa World Cup next month. Head coach Akira Nishino and 39 players underwent a swab test upon arrival in Dubai were all declared free of the coronavirus. Midfielders Chanathip Songkrasin and Thanawat Suengchitthawon will join the squad later. The team's training for the qualifying event in Dubai was suspended on May 8 when two players and four members of the national team staff were infected with the coronavirus. Nishino lamented the lack of training his men have had because of the self-is...
Read More
The Latest: Israeli airstrikes hit buildings, roads in Gaza
8Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

The Latest: Israeli airstrikes hit buildings, roads in Gaza

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The Latest on the continuing violence between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers amid the latest escalation in the Middle East: ___ GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes have struck several buildings and roads in a vital part of Gaza City early Sunday. According to photos circulated by residents and journalists. the airstrikes created a crater that blocked one of the main roads leading to Shifa, the largest hospital in the strip. The Health Ministry said the latest airstrikes left at least two dead and 25 wounded, including children and women. It said rescuers are still digging through the rubble and had so far pulled up five wounded. Two hours into the heavy bombardment, there has been no comment from the Israeli military. ___ UNITED NATIONS -
Read More
Censorship, surveillance and profits: hard bargain for Apple in China
7Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, China, World

Censorship, surveillance and profits: hard bargain for Apple in China

Censorship, surveillance and profits: hard bargain for Apple in China Apple and China flags fly above the entrance to Apple's new data center in Guiyang, China, on Oct 31, 2020. (NYT photo) GUIYANG, China: On the outskirts of this city in a poor, mountainous province in southwestern China, men in hard hats recently put the finishing touches on a white building a quarter-mile long with few windows and a tall surrounding wall. There was little sign of its purpose, apart from the flags of Apple and China flying out front, side by side. Inside, Apple was preparing to store the personal data of its Chinese customers on computer servers run by a state-owned Chinese firm. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has said the data is safe. But at the data centre in Guiyang, which Apple hoped would
Read More
A Facebook food group comes together to make a cookbook
7Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Politics, World

A Facebook food group comes together to make a cookbook

NEW YORK (AP) — The pandemic gave them lemons. So they made lemon rosemary chicken. A Facebook group that swapped homemade recipes after restaurants were shuttered during lockdown has blossomed into a vibrant online community and has now produced a cookbook. “In the Quarantine Kitchen” offers some 120 recipes from pastas to fish dishes that pandemic users have proudly posted — with all proceeds going to charity. “It kind of grew and grew and snowballed,“ said Daniella Cangiano, one of the organizers. ”We were able to take something really negative and make it something really positive.” Some dishes are cherished family hand-me-downs, like Nanny’s Stuffed Calamari in Red Sauce and Aunt Nellie’s Fried Chicken. Others were concocted during the pandemic, like one for tres leches ice pops t
Read More