Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s rebuke of President Donald Trump’s handling of allegations that Russians paid bounties for the killing of American soldiers reflects his longstanding criticism of the president on national security and foreign policy. However, on closer inspection the two presidential rivals are not that far apart on key issues, such as ending foreign wars, protecting American jobs, and countering China’s aggression.On Tuesday, Biden slammed Trump’s passive response to intelligence reports that Russians paid Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, claiming he was not briefed, and the reports were not credible.“The idea that somehow he didn’t know or isn’t being briefed, it is a dereliction of duty. If that’s the case, and if he was briefed and nothing was done about this, that’s a dereliction of duty,” Biden said to reporters in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday.The White House has disputed a New York Times report on Friday that a Russian military intelligence unit had offered bounties to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan for U.S. and allied soldiers, saying it has “not been verified, and there is no consensus among the intelligence community.”FILE – American soldiers wait on the tarmac in Logar province, Afghanistan.Brink of warBiden, who served as President Barack Obama’s vice president, has been highly critical of what he says is Trump’s “deference” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian leaders, his “haphazard” handling of national security threats, and his “America First” foreign policy.In January, Biden said Trump put the U.S. on the brink of war, after the president authorized a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, after deadly Iranian backed attacks on Americans in Iraq.  “The failure to consult with our allies or Congress and the reckless disregard for the consequences that would surely follow was, in my view, dangerously incompetent,” Biden said in New York Jan. 7. Calls for “harsh revenge” during Soleimani’s massive funeral in Tehran raised concerns that military conflict with the United States could escalate, but tensions have eased after Iran retaliated with a non-lethal missile attack against a U.S. military base in Iraq.Biden agenda  In contrast to Trump’s reliance on personal diplomacy and unilateral action to confront U.S. security threats, the former vice president said he would organize a summit of democracies to strengthen alliances in the face of growing authoritarianism around the world, and would prioritize negotiation over confrontation. Biden wants to restore military ties with NATO in Europe after Trump strained relations by demanding increased defense spending. Trump recently ordered the military to withdraw about 10,000 U.S. troops from Germany, unless Berlin increases its NATO contributions.  The Trump administration has also demanded steep cost sharing increases for basing U.S. troops in Germany, South Korea and Japan.However, the Democratic presidential candidate is closer to Trump’s position on ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Syria, continuing negotiations with North Korea to end its nuclear program, and confronting China’s suppression of human rights in Hong Kong and military buildup in the South China Sea.  
On Thursday, Biden issued a statement denouncing China’s crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong and as said as president he would prohibit U.S. companies from “abetting repression” in Hong Kong and impose sanctions on China for human rights abuses.NEW: Statement by Vice President Joe Biden on China’s Human Rights Abuses
Biden’s most comprehensive statement to date on China human rights, including several steps he’ll take as President. pic.twitter.com/jlwWYR31We
— Ely Ratner (@elyratner) FILE – Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama wave to the delegates at the conclusion of President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, September 6, 2012.Obama eraBiden would likely rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration, that Trump pulled out of because it did not limit ballistic missile development and support for Iranian backed militias.He would recommit the U.S. to the Paris climate accord, signed by nearly 200 countries and designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and factories to counter global warming.But Biden said he would not rejoin the Obama-era Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, which Trump pulled out of in early 2017, until stronger protections for labor and American jobs are added.  “There is no going back to business as usual on trade,” Biden said on his campaign website. But he also argues in favor multilateral trades agreements to improve fair trade practices and democratic values in the developing world.  
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Asking people in English pubs to keep their distance is going to be tough after they’ve had a few of their favorite tipples.Pub managers will have to be resourceful come Saturday when they and other parts of the hospitality industry in England open their doors to customers for the first time since March 20, provided they meet COVID safety requirements.The British government has been accused of being reckless in allowing pubs to open again, given coronavirus infection and death rates are still high and amid evidence that reopening bars in countries like the U.S. has led to new outbreaks. The U.K. has recorded nearly 44,000 virus-related deaths, third behind the United States and Brazil.Closing Bars to Stop Coronavirus Spread is Backed by ScienceAlcohol lowers inhibitions, so people forget precautions, Natalie Dean, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Florida saysMany cash-starved pubs will take the plunge anyway, though they will be very different from what they were when they shut down given the need to ensure everyone is safe — from registering customers upon entrance to making sure tables are far enough apart to meet social distancing rules.”I’m nervous,” said Are Kolltveit, who runs the Chandos Arms in north London with his wife Emily. They have turned around the fortunes of the pub in the past few years by taking it back to the community, offering activities like live music — in addition to a finely poured pint of ale. It was voted Best Local in the 2019 British Pub Awards.”It won’t be the same, but we’ll do our best to make it just as great as ever,” he said.The pandemic is an existential threat to most of England’s 37,500 pubs. The Chandos, and countless others, have benefited from government measures, notably a wage support scheme that prevented mass firings. Around 90% of pub staff were furloughed under the scheme, according to the Beer and Pub Association.Reopening — as early as 6 a.m. if they wish, the government confirmed Friday — offers hope to publicans like Kolltveit, but margins are tight.Kolltveit wants to think people will abide by the rules, given the pandemic is still ongoing, and says his pub can survive for around five months without further help — provided it runs at 50% of maximum capacity and there’s no second spike in contagions or a new lockdown on businesses.”The best pubs are extensions of the landlord’s personality and the atmosphere of the pub is going to be massively challenged, but I think the best publicans will find ways of reinventing it in some way,” said Pete Brown, an award-winning beer writer.When they reopen, pubs will need to ensure table service, a move that halts the cherished tradition of the English boozer — crowding and chatting around the bar. Guests will be limited to groups of six and, where possible, sit side by side to reduce any risk of contagion that may come from shouting too loudly.They will be spaced at least one meter (3.3 feet) apart and be encouraged to take other measures to keep safe, such as using hand sanitizers. Wearing masks, even by staff, is optional.  Pub staff will also have to register the names of customers at the door — and keep them for 21 days — to assist in any efforts to trace virus contagions.Tim Sheehan, co-owner of Franklins, a pub and restaurant in southeast London, is annoyed by the effective enrolment of the hospitality industry in the effort to track and trace contagions and wonders how he is meant to verify anyone’s health or identity.”How many Mr. and Mrs. Presleys are we going to get? And how do you go about asking people personal questions?,” he said. “I’m dreading it in that respect.”He’s also concerned it will be “like New Year’s Eve” in some pubs, particularly those that cater to younger people, and that social distancing guidelines “may go out of the window after people have had a few shandies.””We are moving to the stage where the advice is to essentially use common sense,” said Jon Cross, a 40-year-old accountant in north London.”Most people will trust their local to make the right choices,” added Cross who said he’d happily frequent his local pub, The Wrestlers, if it isn’t busy.The guidelines are the same whatever the size and layout of the pub. But the challenges are likely to be very different for a huge venue like JD Wetherspoon’s The Moon Under Water in Manchester and a quaint country pub like The George at Burpham, tucked between a church and a cricket pitch in southern England.Pubs like The George are inherent to the rhythm of their rural surrounding. It is starting with an outside barbecue on Saturday, followed by a traditional Sunday roast service indoors and out.”Not since the Duke of Norfolk opened Arundel Railway Station on his land in August 1863 has a summer event been more eagerly awaited by Sussex locals than the re-opening of The George,” said Robert Essex, a 59-year-old marketing services executive and one of the locals who bought the pub in 2013.Not everyone is reopening. The Tollington Arms, a pub near Arsenal’s soccer stadium in north London thinks the government is ignoring expert scientific advice and voiced worries about “contributing to a second wave of this pandemic.”Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that people are “appreciably less likely now to be in close proximity” with someone with the virus and that the latest easing of the lockdown had been carefully thought through.”Let’s not blow it now,” he said.
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Two former presidents of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, have been charged with money laundering in separate cases.After leaving the prosecutor’s office in Panama City on Thursday, Martinelli said he was angered by prosecutors continuing to link him to the so-called “New Business” case in which a publishing group was allegedly purchased with government money during his five-year term, ending in 2014.The French News Agency (AFP) said prosecutors accuse former President Juan Carlos Varela of taking illegal campaign donations from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht during his term ending in 2019.Varela has pledged to cooperate with prosecutors to clear his name.Both Martinelli and Varela share more than identical legal challenges.Martinelli won the 2009 election with Varela as his running mate, but their partnership collapsed when Varela was fired as foreign minister in 2011. 
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New Zealand Health Minister David Clark resigned Thursday after recent controversies surrounding his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Clark was criticized for breaches of strict quarantine rules for travelers returning from overseas and for ignoring lockdown measures by taking his family to the beach.Border closures and strict lockdown measures have helped New Zealand contain the coronavirus, and officials have said there was no evidence of community transmission. But David Clark has paid the price for his mistakes. The former health minister had admitted breaching travel restrictions when New Zealanders were ordered to stay at home. He was demoted from his position as an associate finance minister after breaking rules to take his family to the beach. Clark called himself an “idiot” after the breach.He was also criticized for failures to ensure that returning travelers were properly tested. In a high-profile case, two women were allowed to leave mandatory isolation early to visit a dying parent without being screened for the virus. They were later confirmed to have the disease.Clark said it’s time to move on.“Serving as minister of health has been an absolute privilege particularly through these extraordinary last few months,” he said. “It is no secret that health is a challenging portfolio. I have given it my all, but it has become increasingly clear to me that my continuation in the role is distracting from the government’s overall response to COVID-19 and the global pandemic.”Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was essential those leading the response to the pandemic had the confidence of the people of New Zealand.The opposition National Party had been calling for Clark’s resignation for weeks. A spokesperson said his handling of border quarantine measures had “been utterly shambolic.”The government ended most disease-control restrictions last month. It had imposed some of the world’s toughest lockdown measures. Its international borders remain closed.New Zealand is a South Pacific nation of about 5 million people. More than 400,000 coronavirus tests have been done.It has had 1,528 confirmed or probable coronavirus infections. There are 18 active cases in the country. So far, 22 people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.   
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The World Health Organization called on African countries Thursday to take comprehensive safety measures to “mitigate a surge” in COVID-19 cases, as nations resume air travel. The African economy, which is heavily reliant on travel and tourism, has been struck hard by the global pandemic. “Air travel is vital to the economic health of countries,” Dr. FILE – Passengers arriving from a China Southern Airlines flight from Changsha in China are screened for the coronavirus, upon their arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi, Kenya, January 29, 2020.Thursday’s press release came hours after Amani Abou-Zeid, the African Union’s commissioner for infrastructure and energy, said that the continent had lost nearly $55 billion in travel and tourism revenue in just three months because of the pandemic. Africa had previously expected revenue jumps in these sectors this year. “We have 24 million African families whose livelihood is linked to travel and tourism,” Abou-Zeid said. “The blow is very hard, between the economic losses and the job losses.”  African airlines, she added, have experienced an $8 billion, or 95%, drop in revenue, alongside other economic losses. The International Monetary Fund projected last month that the sub-Saharan African economy would shrink by 3.2% this year, revised from a 1.6% contraction in April. The WHO, however, pressed countries to weigh the financial costs of maintaining closed borders with the costs of a more severe outbreak, and asked nations to decide if their health care and contact tracing systems could handle an increase in COVID-19 cases. Temperature screening at points of entry is relatively well-established in Africa because of the continent’s experience with Ebola, Moeti said Thursday at a WHO-World Economic Forum press conference. Ebola outbreaks have also primed COVID-19 contact tracing efforts, she said. As of Thursday, Africa had over 414,000 confirmed infections and nearly 200,000 recoveries, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 10,000 people have died. South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have reported the most cases in the region by far. About 22% of destinations worldwide had eased travel restrictions as of June 25, up from just 3% in mid-May, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization. Most are in Europe.On Tuesday, the European Union released a list of 15 countries whose citizens would be allowed to enter the bloc, provided the gesture was reciprocated. 
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Міністр фінансів Сергій Марченко «не бачить жодних підстав для паніки». Про це він заявив в ефірі телеканалу «1+1» ввечері 2 липня.

«Я вважаю, що на сьогоднішній момент день цей завершиться, усі заспокояться, курсова стабільність заспокоїться і все буде в нас в порядку. Я не бачу жодних підстав для паніки і жодних підстав, щоб ми сказали, що в нас щось відбувається не так», – сказав Марченко.

Ввечері 1 липня голова Національного банку Яків Смолій написав заяву про звільнення за власним бажанням через «систематичний політичний тиск». В Офісі президента запевнили, що Нацбанк залишатиметься незалежним органом.

Наступного дня долар подорожчав на 41 копійку, а євро – на 66.

 
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Члени групи підтримки України в Конгресі США закликали президента України Володимира Зеленського знайти компроміс із виробниками відновлюваної енергетики в кількамісячних дискусіях щодо цін. Американські посадовці вважають, що це може загрожувати західним інвестиціям.

Український парламент попередньо може схвалити новий закон, який знизить ціни на сонячну та вітрову енергію на 15 та 7,5 відсотків відповідно.

Виробники вітрової енергії погодилися з пропозиціями влади. Водночас власники сонячних електростанцій попросили залишити поточні ціни на два роки, оскільки нова цінова формула завдасть удару по рентабельності та перешкоджатиме новим інвестиціям.

2 липня у листі до Зеленського члени Палати представників з Демократичної партії Марсі Каптур (Огайо) та Майк Квілі (Іллінойс) закликали президента до «консенсусного підходу» в переговорах з виробниками вітрової та сонячної енергії.

«Підтримка цілісності цього підходу вважатиметься суттєвим досягненням та зміцнить довіру до України під час залучення закордонних прямих інвестицій в енергетичному секторі та інших секторах економіки», – йдеться в листі.

Із 2015 року закордонні інверстори, включно з американським бізнесом, витратили понад два мільярди доларів в українську індустрію відновлюваної енергії. Тоді в країні встановили привілейовані ціни на зелену енергію на 10-річний період з метою залучення інвестицій.
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The U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent as the job market improved for the second straight month. This comes as parts of the CARES Act, a pandemic related relief bill passed by the U.S. Congress, is set to expire soon and the country experiences a spike in new coronavirus infections. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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Partners in South Sudan’s unity government violated a provision of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement that states that 35% of all government positions should be filled by women, women’s groups say.   Amer Manyok Deng, chairperson of the South Sudan Women’s Bloc, a stakeholder at the peace talks, urged President Salva Kiir on Thursday to revoke his recent appointment of eight governors, of which only one is a woman.If he refuses, Deng told South Sudan in Focus, Kiir should find a solution that meets the required 35% quota for female representation at all levels of government.“These spaces, we are not going to leave it like that,” Deng told VOA. “They have to call out the rest of the people who are seated in our space and the women must be there. In case it becomes difficult for the president to reverse the decree for the appointment of the governors, he has to appoint all deputy governors female.”In addition, Deng said, half of the president’s cabinet should be female, as should the speaker of the Transitional Legislative Assembly and chief justice.The September 2018 revitalized peace deal states that all stakeholders should allocate 35% of their share of positions at all levels of government to women.Not too late for changeKiir announced the appointment of eight of 10 governors and three area administrators on Monday, all of whom took the oath of office on Wednesday.It’s not too late to reverse those appointments, according to Deng.“This [is] a right in the agreement and it is signed and the SPLM Party [Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement] are the ones who launched the anticipation of women, and women affirmative action 35% in 2016, so we are wondering why should it be SPLM again to violate it,” she said.Women lobbied relentlessly to ensure that the country’s stakeholders would appoint women to positions of power in the transitional government, according to Caroline Kibos of the South Sudan Women’s Coalition.“We even submitted a list of women we thought could have positions in this government, but we are just so disappointed that these people did not consider women voices, although women have been in this throughout the negotiations, the mediation, and women have played a role in all these processes,” Kibos told South Sudan in Focus.  “We wonder why it is only at this point that they forget women, yet they made commitments to honor the 35% representation of women.”Women who try to meet with government officials to discuss the inequity issue cannot get an appointment, Deng said.“They have very serious security at their gates,” Deng told VOA. “When we want to approach them in their offices, we are given an appointment, which is not taking place for years. Their security personnel at the gate, in their offices, are the ones who start ignoring us.”If women were given a chance to lead public offices, they would do better than men in terms of service delivery and maintaining security, Deng said.
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About 370 demonstrators were arrested in Hong Kong on Wednesday after thousands protested China’s new national security law that went into effect that day. The police said 10 of those arrested had breached the new law for allegedly carrying independence signs and chanting independence slogans. #BREAKING: Around 370 arrests, including 10 (6M&4F) for breaching #NationalSecurityLaw, have been made today. A total of 7 officers were injured on duty. Among the serious injuries, one was stabbed by a rioter with a dagger and three were hit by a rioter driving a motorcylce.
— Hong Kong Police Force (@hkpoliceforce) Protesters against the new national security law gesture with five fingers, signifying the “Five demands – not one less” on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China from Britain in Hong Kong, July 1, 2020.Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers defied the ban, and police used water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters. Police said seven officers were injured while on duty. Ching, a 13-year-old female student, went to the protest with her father and two sisters. She told VOA that they oppose the law because it erodes human rights and freedom.”We would just become another Chinese city. If you dare to speak your mind, you might get arrested,” Ching said. She added that she is worried she and her family might face charges by participating in the protest.  “But if we don’t do so, we might lose the opportunity to even protest,” she said.Fung, a 23-year-old university graduate, joined the protest with his girlfriend. He saw the police cite Hong Kong’s first national security law and raise purple warning flags to those who shouted independence slogans for the first time.Police display a public announcement banner showing the warning to protesters in Causeway Bay before the annual handover march in Hong Kong, July 1, 2020.”Honestly, even without the new law, the police can arrest you based on current public security regulations. But this law is so vague, it basically gives the police more legal power to arrest more people,” he said. Both Ching and Fung requested to be identified by their last names. Kacey Wong, a 50-year-old performance artist, participates in the July 1 parades every year. This year, his theme is “shopaholic.” Dressed like a rich shopper from mainland China, he held multiple shopping bags with Chinese characters labeled separatism, subversion, collusion, terrorism — all crimes listed in the new national security law.   “These words are starting to make people feel uneasy. Even people who don’t participate in social movements are getting nervous. I want to reflect that sentiment in my art,” Wong told VOA. Police detain a protester during a march marking the anniversary of the Hong Kong handover from Britain to China, in Hong Kong, July. 1, 2020.Intimidation  Fernando Cheung, vice chairman of the center-left Labor Party and a member of the Legislative Council, told VOA the fact that tens of thousands of people participated in the protest despite the police ban shows that China’s Communist Party cannot win the hearts and minds of Hong Kongers through intimidation. Cheung said that Beijing ignored the international community’s concerns and insisted on implementing the law to intimidate the people of Hong Kong. “Hong Kongers’ action on the day the law came into effect shows that we are fearless,” he said. 
 
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Indonesia will be producing a coronavirus vaccine for itself due to concerns about global distribution of foreign-produced vaccines, the head of Indonesia’s national COVID-19 research team announced Thursday.“It will be by Indonesia, from Indonesia, to Indonesia,” Ali Ghufron Mukti said during a streamed press conference alongside the country’s foreign minister, Retno MarsudiMukti cited the limited production capabilities and capacities of biotech companies worldwide, and “challenges” to the global supply chain as reasons for the necessity of Indonesia developing its own vaccine.The U.S. government announced this week it reached an agreement with Gilead Sciences to have most of the biopharmaceutical company’s production of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat the coronavirus, available to the U.S. for the next three months.The Indonesian government began discussing research for a vaccine in March, but did not voice intentions to develop and produce the vaccine solely for the country.State-owned Bio Farma, the only vaccine maker in Indonesia, teamed up with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech in early June. Mukti added that Bio Farma could conduct trials in the second half of next year.
 “We are using our theory and we are optimistic that in the year 2021 and early 2021, this will be finished in the laboratory,” the COVID-19 research team head said.In addition to the collaboration between Bio Farma and Sinovac, Mukti said private Indonesian pharmaceutical firm Kalbe Farma and South Korean biotech company Genexine were also cooperating to produce a vaccine.According to John Hopkin’s Thursday tally of the coronavirus, Indonesia has had 59,394 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,987 deaths. 
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A new study indicates that fireworks, so common in the United States as the July 4th Independence Day holiday approaches, may be harmful to humans and animals.The study, conducted by researchers at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and published Thursday in the Particle and Fibre Toxicology Journal, indicates that common fireworks displays and other commercially available fireworks that explode in the air release heavy metals such as titanium, copper, strontium and even lead particulates into the air.The study showed the metals, when breathed into the lungs, can be harmful to humans and other mammals, and could cause long-term health problems.The NYU researchers say that previous studies on firework safety focused on physical injuries that might be suffered as fireworks explode.  But the study’s co-author, environmental medicine expert Terry Gordon said they wanted to know whether the toxins released by the fireworks posed a significant risk.  Gordon tells the science publication Inverse that their team gathered 12 brands of fireworks commonly sold in the United States and set them off in a sealed chamber and collected the emitted particles.  They then exposed human cells and living mice to the particles to test them for toxicity.  They also studied 14 years of air quality samples taken across the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency. They found levels of toxic metals in the air were higher in samples taken closer to holidays associated with fireworks – Independence Day and, often, New Years.  The researchers say they hope the study can be used to find safer materials to use in fireworks. But they also recommend that all home fireworks be set off outside, that people stay upwind from fireworks displays when possible, look for fireworks that do not use lead, and save fireworks for special events.
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Долар стрибнув на 40 копійок після заяви голови Національного банку України Якова Смолія про відставку, свідчать дані на сайті НБУ.

Довідкове значення курсу гривні до долара на 12:00 встановлене на рівні 27 гривень 17 копійок.

Ввечері 1 липня голова Національного банку Яків Смолій написав заяву про звільнення за власним бажанням через «систематичний політичний тиск». В Офісі президента запевнили, що Нацбанк залишатиметься незалежним органом.

Яків Смолій працює на посаді голови НБУ з березня 2018 року. Питання про його відставку має розглянути парламент.
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Міністр фінансів Сергій Марченко заявляє, що немає підстав хвилюватися за курс гривні після заяви про відставку голови Національного банку України Якова Смолія.

«Я вважаю, що немає жодних підстав переживати за курс валюти у зв’язку з відставкою посадовця. Можливо, сьогодні можемо бачити якусь турбулентність на ринку, але я вважаю, що буде ухвалено відповідні рішення, і вже, можливо, найближчим часом все заспокоїться», – сказав Марченко 2 липня в Києві.

Він додав, що відставка Смолія не змінить ситуації на валютному ринку.

Ввечері 1 липня голова Національного банку Яків Смолій написав заяву про звільнення за власним бажанням через «систематичний політичний тиск». В Офісі президента запевнили, що Нацбанк залишатиметься незалежним органом.

Яків Смолій працює на посаді голови НБУ з березня 2018 року. Питання про його відставку має розглянути парламент.

Після заяви Смолія долар стрибнув на 40 копійок.
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