A church in Caldecote, Hertfordshire was heavily vandalised in an attack which saw its windows and decorations smashed – a mere ten days after it reopened following nine months of repairs.
The 14th and 15th century Church of St. Mary Magdalene, which is Grade II-listed and maintained by the Friends of Friendless Churches charity, had its windows smashed, its decorations destroyed, and its furniture, floors and altar covered in fire extinguishing powder and bleach on Thursday afternoon.
The Friends of Friendless Churches published photos of the destruction on social media, noting that though “it may not look like much,” the fire extinguishing powder “is everywhere” and “in every crevice.”
Last night we had a call, our church at Caldecote, Hertfordshire had been vandalised. Windows smashed, powder fire extinguishers let off all over the interior, decorations smashed, bleach thrown over floor and altar.
The church only reopened 10 days ago after 9mos of repair.
“It's thick. Hours of cleaning and barely any difference made,” the charity declared. “The vandals were very obviously disturbed. It could have been so much worse, but this is so disheartening. Why? Why do something like this?”
In its own statement, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene condemned the “mindless act of vandalism,” and claimed that the police “are treating the crime very seriously.”
Due to the police investigation and clean-up efforts, the church announced that it would “remain closed until further notice” until it can be “safely re-opened.”
Several cases of vandalism against churches have been recorded in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic. In April, historic stained glass windows at a church in Lincolnshire were damaged after vandals appeared to use them for “target practice,” while, in October last year, a man was filmed trying to pull a large crucifix off a church roof in London.
This summer, Canada has also experienced a surge in arson attacks against churches, with at least 57 churches set on fire or otherwise vandalised. The attacks started after the discovery in May of unmarked graves near an old Catholic school for indigenous Canadians.
After an exceptional 3x3 campaign at the Tokyo Olympics that ended in a silver medal, there was more joy for Russian basketball star Anastasiia Logunova when she returned to Moscow to receive a ring from her boyfriend on arrival.
World Cup and European champion Logunova appeared to have been surprised by her lover minutes after touching down in Russia, coming back a hero after narrowly missing out on gold via an 18-15 defeat to Team USA in the final that included a star showing from the power forward.
Her smitten new fiance, who is a comedy performer and has served in the Russian army, has previously described their relationship as the "perfect match".
"We seem to be from different galaxies," he once wrote, describing them as "bright light and pitch darkness" and "two souls and one head."
"No matter how fate interferes with us, I will not survive next to another."
Logunova turned 31 while she was part of the heroic Russian team – competing as the Russian Olympic Committee due to a doping ruling – who came close to glory at the Games.
The Nadezhda Orenburg star described being at the showpiece in Tokyo as her "biggest present", posing next to the Olympic logo at night on Toyomi Wharf.
Her sustained campaign thousands of miles from home kept her from sharing some of the romantic snaps she is known for on social media, posing with her partner in glamorous outfits and in front of landmarks while sharing kisses.
Instead, Logunova has spent her time helping her team mount a memorable Olympic challenge, finished second only to the USA in Pool A, in which they edged above China and Japan with five initial wins out of seven.
A 21-18 triumph over the host nation included six points from Logunova, who also scored twice in a 21-14 victory against China.
The former Dynamo Kursk and MBA Moscow player had her most productive performance in a 21-12 win over Romania, scoring eight points in a tally matched by Olga Frolkina.
She also scored five points in the 17-9 win against Italy and two in the 21-5 blitzing of Mongolia.
The Russians' only other defeat came against Team USA in the group stage, losing 20-16 despite three points from Logunova and eight points from main hotshot Yulia Kozik.
Social media users have theorized that President Andres Manuel López Obrador could face severe repercussions after he refused to purchase Covid vaccines for children, vowing that Mexico wouldn’t bow to pressure from drugs firms.
In remarks made earlier this week, the Mexican leader said his government was still waiting for the scientific community to demonstrate the benefits of vaccinating minors. Until conclusive evidence was provided, Mexico would refuse to purchase jabs for children, Obrador announced, adding that pharmaceutical firms seemed to be focused more on making profits than on ensuring medical necessity as they rake in record sales from Covid-19 vaccines.
Mexico will not be held hostage by pharmaceutical companies that only want to do business and scare children with the idea that it is necessary to vaccinate against Covid-19.
He was similarly critical of plans by drugs companies to introduce third- or even fourth-dose booster shots, opining that the jabs could be “superfluous.”
Speaking on the same topic, Undersecretary for Health Hugo López-Gatell claimed there was “no scientific evidence” showing the jab was “essential” for minors, given the high rate of inoculation among the adult population, Excélsior, Mexico City’s second-oldest daily, reported.
Mexico has approved a range of Covid vaccines for emergency use, including shots developed by Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Sinovac, as well as Russia’s Sputnik V.
The country’s Health Ministry recently revealed that a minimum of 48% of Mexicans have received at least one vaccine dose.
Like many other countries, Mexico rolled out its inoculation program in phases, giving high-risk groups first priority. Currently, those under 18 are not included in the vaccine drive.
Largely ignored by international media, Obrador’s provocative remarks went viral after an English-subtitled video of his speech was shared across social media.
Several comments hailed the Mexican president’s “cajones” for calling out Big Pharma greed. Pfizer, for example, has boasted record profits and recently raised full-year sales estimates for its vaccine to $45 billion.
Hats off to these guys. They have balls of steel.
— Leave the gun, take the cannoli (@GrabbingHands1) July 31, 2021
Others shared more conspiratorial reactions to Obrador’s comments. Numerous observers theorized that the Mexican president was exposing himself to potential harm or an “accident” by criticizing Big Pharma firms in such a blunt and direct manner.
While Mexico doesn’t feel comfortable administering the shot to youngsters, many other countries have begun to offer the vaccine to minors, both in clinical trials and as part of inoculation drives. According to the Mayo Clinic, around 14% of Americans under 18 have received at least one Covid shot.
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July 31, 2021 at 01:46AM
from RT - Daily news
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US gymnast Simone Biles has withdrawn from the uneven bars and vault finals at the Tokyo Games just hours after complaining that she was suffering from so-called 'twisties', which she says has left her "mind and body out of sync".
Biles, the 24-year-old four-time Olympic champion, caused a stir this week when she announced that she wouldn't be competing in Tuesday's women's team final and Thursday's individual all-around final, citing a need to safeguard her mental health.
Her continuing participation in this summer's Games have now been thrown into further doubt after it was confirmed that she will drop out of two events on Sunday – and she is yet to confirm if she will take part in two further finals on the floor and balance beam, both of which are due to take place next week.
After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. pic.twitter.com/kWqgZJK4LJ
A statement from US Gymnastics confirmed Biles' withdrawal, adding that the star would continue to be "evaluated daily".
"After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars," the statement said.
"MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in vault finals for the US alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second-highest score.
"We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances."
The development comes just hours after Biles confessing on social media that she was suffering from 'twisties' – a term used in gymnastics to describe an athlete who is suffering from a mental block which hinders their ability to perform.
She also published a video to Instagram which showed her struggling to land on her feet after performing two sets on the high bars.
"After the performance I did, I just didn't want to go on," said Biles earlier this week after she withdrew from events having tallied her lowest-ever Olympic score in the opening rotation.
"I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.
"We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
"I don't trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it's getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world.
"We're not just athletes. We're people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back."
Biles, who was favored to win gold in every event in which she was due to compete, also said that she has no idea how long her bout of 'twisties' will last – and added that gymnastics can be a tremendously dangerous sport if an athlete enters competition on uncertain ground.
With Biles set to compete again on Monday, all eyes will be on the sport's biggest star amid questions about whether her Olympic Games campaign was over before it ever really began.
Big Chinese tech stocks listed in the US have suffered their worst month since October 2008 as the latest clampdown by China’s regulators forced investors to reassess the world’s largest stock market, triggering a major sell-off.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index – which follows US-listed Chinese tech – tumbled 22% in July, marking the biggest one-month drop since the financial crisis. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 1.35%, for a monthly loss of 9.9%, with the Shanghai Composite also falling, by 0.4%, bringing the July decline to 5.4%.
The abrupt declines in Asian stocks have reportedly wiped out over $730 billion in value from the Golden Dragon gauge, with $354 billion of that occurring in June alone. Last month, the index, which had hit a record in February, was up 25% in the 12 month-period until end of June.
The downward spiral came as China’s regulators target companies across such sectors as tech, finance, education, and healthcare, intensifying scrutiny that mostly focused on shares of the US-listed tech firms over the past month.
Shares of New Oriental Education Education & Technology and TAL Education have taken the hardest hit, dropping over 70% in July. The heavy losses came after Chinese regulators barred the companies concerned with teaching school subjects from raising capital, going public and making profits. Shares of Alibaba and Baidu were also down, by 14% and 20%, respectively.
At the same time, the country’s transport ministry pledged to ramp up supervision over ride-hailing and on-demand trucking firms. The news dragged down the shares of Didi Global and Full Truck Alliance, both of which held initial public offerings in the US last month. The companies are currently the subject of a different probe, by China’s Cybersecurity Administration, over data-security concerns.
Earlier this week, the WSJ cited one of China’s top regulators as stating that the country was not planning to decouple from capital markets, and that the government would assess market impacts before introducing future policies.
The attack that killed two people aboard an Israeli-operated vessel off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea on Thursday, is believed to have been a drone strike, US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, has said.
American explosives experts, who have examined the Mercer Street product tanker, have discovered “clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred” on the ship, the Fifth Fleet said, in a statement on Saturday.
“Initial indications clearly point to a (drone)-style attack,” it stated, without elaborating on how such a conclusion was reached.
Two US warships – nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher – have been escorting the ill-fated merchant vessel to a safe port, it added.
The statement by the US Navy has echoed earlier media reports, which cited an unnamed US official, who blamed the attack on a “suicide drone.”
The Liberian-flagged tanker Mercer Street, operated by the London-based Zodiac Maritime company of Israeli billionaire, Eyal Ofer, was hit late on Thursday northeast of the Omani island of Masirah, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of the country’s capital, Muscat. Two crew members were killed in the attack, one of them reportedly being a Romanian captain and the other confirmed as a British security guard.
Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid has accused his country’s main regional rival, Iran, of striking Mercer Street and urged the international community to act against Tehran. “The world must not be silent in the face of Iranian terrorism that also harms freedom of shipping,” Lapid said in a statement.
Iranian authorities haven’t officially commented on the incident in the Arabian Sea. However, state run al-Alam broadcaster has cited “sources in the resistance axis,” who claimed that the ship had been targeted in response to recent Israeli airstrikes against Iran’s ally, Syria.
Explosions and fires aboard Israeli and Iranian-owned vessels have been frequent in the waters around the Persian Gulf since the start of the year. The two countries have been trading blame for various incidents, while themselves denying any responsibility for attacks.
However, none of the previous attacks resulted in human casualties and the damage sustained by the ships was significant and allowed them to continue operations after repairs.
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July 31, 2021 at 12:54AM
from RT - Daily news
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100m star Blessing Okagbare will not be challenging the likes of British record holder Dina Asher-Smith in the semifinals at the Olympics on Saturday, with doping chiefs handing her a provisional suspension over a growth hormone.
Self-declared "queen of the track" Okagbare was due to race for a place in the final in Tokyo, and the six-time African Championships winner had voiced her excitement and thanked god for her place at the Olympics earlier this week.
The long jump silver medalist at the Games in 2008 and current holder of the African 200m record has now been ruled out of her latest shot at glory after the Athletics Integrity Unit announced it had detected the growth hormone – a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List – in an out-of-competition test earlier this month.
Lab officials told the unit about the result on Friday, and Okagbare was informed that she would not be allowed to compete just hours before the semifinal on Saturday.
First doping story of #Tokyo2020 involving positive test. And it’s a big name in Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare. She’d already started 100m and was due to run in semi finals later today. Now suspended and will be scratched from start list. #Olympicspic.twitter.com/rWfGaZbARf
Okagbare would have taken on the likes of Asher-Smith and the fastest woman of all time, Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, in her bid to move a step closer to a medal.
The hugely experienced 32-year-old won 100m gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 – the same year in which she married former Nigeria football international Igho Otegheri – and has also won a string of honors in relay racing.
Her 200m individual semifinal berth would have been her first since the World Championships in Doha in 2019, when Okagbare was disqualified for lane infringement.
She set the African record at the distance with a time of 22.04 seconds in 2018.
"If courage has a face, it is this woman right here," she told her Instagram following of almost 30,000 recently.
"The energy you give and receive is contagious so, be mindful when spreading words."
