Russia continues to pose “serious” and “growing” threats to U.S. interests in space, according to the top military officer for space defense. “They’re real, they’re serious and they’re concerning,” Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly established U.S. Space Force and head of U.S. Space Command, told reporters Wednesday. “Our advantage has been diminished, and that’s why the establishment of the Space Force in the Aerospace Command is so important — to allow us to move fast with agility of effort, reducing costs to stay ahead of that growing threat,” he added. The realm of space is essential to everyday activities from navigation to banking. Space assets are also critical to military missions from launching missiles to collecting intelligence. Raymond did not elaborate when pressed for specific areas where the U.S. advantage is eroding but touted “significant strides” over recent months to remain the world leader in space.  Raymond credited having the “best partnerships” as a major reason the United States leads in space, confirming that Peru this month became the latest nation to join a U.S.-led network that shares information on space objects.  The data-sharing space situational awareness agreement will give Peru access to satellite tracking data, connecting Peru’s space agency with the military team that tracks space objects for the United States. Raymond warned, however, that as the United States has watched both Russia and China advance in space capabilities, “any progress they make could erode our advantage.” Russia and China have recently placed a greater emphasis on their space capabilities, including developing technology and weapons that could disrupt or destroy satellites.  “Our adversaries in the last several years have weaponized space. They’ve made it a war fighting domain,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Friday.U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, speaks during a news conference on Feb. 29, 2020.In recent weeks, Russia fired an anti-satellite missile, technology that could threaten U.S. orbital assets. It also conducted test maneuvers of two satellites that followed a U.S. spy satellite, a move that the U.S. Space Force said last month “exhibited characteristics of a space weapon.”  Raymond slammed Russia’s “hypocritical” behavior toward space, saying that Moscow is advocating for outer space arms control at the same time it is developing space weapons.  Iran and North Korea have less developed capabilities than Russia and China, but they still pose a threat, according to defense officials. Last month, Iran conducted its first successful launch of a military satellite into space. Raymond reiterated to reporters Wednesday that the satellite was “nothing more than a tumbling webcam” that was unlikely to provide intelligence. 
…

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused a reporter of Skhemy (Schemes), a joint investigative project by RFE/RL and UA: Pershy television, of crossing the line of balanced journalism and breaking laws in pursuing the Ukrainian leader, a charge the group denies.During a news conference Wednesday to mark his first year in power, Zelenskiy singled out Skhemy reporter Mykhaylo Tkach, saying that the journalist was “everywhere, where I live, where I move, where I work … always or almost every day on duty like a national guard.””Please tell me if there is at least one country in the world where a journalist travels in the president’s motorcade, right inside the president’s motorcade, filming or not filming — I don’t care, I have nothing to hide — but inside the presidential motorcade,” Zelenskiy said.”To my mind there must not be anything personal between journalism and the government, and one cannot break the law,” Zelenskiy said.Skhemy responseSkhemy’s editorial board immediately responded to the president’s comments, saying that Zelenskiy’s accusations were groundless and its journalists act exclusively within Ukraine’s laws and in accordance with journalistic standards.”The president has decided to complain about our work publicly. It seems that the Ukrainian authorities are very annoyed by the work of independent media, which cover its shortcomings and unfulfilled promises,” Natalia Sedletska, the project’s editor in chief, wrote on Facebook.”Zelenskiy even addressed a concrete person, attacking Mykhaylo Tkach, the author of numerous high-profile journalistic investigations into what was really happening on the sidelines of the Ukrainian politics. Skhemy’s editorial board states that all our journalists, including Mykhaylo Tkach, act exclusively within the norms of the law and in accordance with journalistic standards,” she added.Sedletska noted that Skhemy’s work “is aimed exclusively at covering socially important information that would otherwise remain secret or nonpublic.””Our journalists are guided only by the interests of the society, not by a specific government or a specific president, and that is what the independent journalism is about,” she said.
 
…

A North Dakota construction company favored by President Donald Trump has received the largest contract to date to build a section of Trump’s signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota confirmed the $1.3 billion contract for building the 42-mile section of wall through “really tough terrain in the mountains” in Arizona. That’s about $30 million per mile.  Cramer said Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. offered the lowest price for the project. He did not know how many companies bid. Trump has promised to build 450 miles of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of the year. So far, the government has awarded millions of dollars in contracts for construction of 30-foot-tall barriers, along with new lighting, technology and infrastructure. The Trump administration says it has already built 187 miles of wall. Some of it is new, but most is replacing old, much shorter barriers that officials say were not sufficient.  The Army Corp of Engineers said Wednesday that there was no set date to start or complete construction on the latest award. Construction will take place near Nogales, Arizona, and Sasabe, Arizona.  Cramer said the fence will be painted black because “that’s what the president wanted, plain and simple,” Cramer said.  Border Patrol agents on horseback ride along a US-Mexico border fence on Jan. 31, 2020, in nearby town of Sunland Park, New Mexico.The idea is that the black wall would absorb heat making it more difficult for someone to scale, he said. “That’s the president’s theory,” Cramer said. “Plus, it won’t be an ugly, rusty thing that everyone is putting up now.” The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, which awards contracts, said Fisher was one of several companies chosen in May 2019 to partake in building $5 billion worth of border wall. This month’s contract to Fisher was part of that award.  Asked if there were any additional bidders for this latest contract, a spokesman said the agency couldn’t provide that information because of “procurement sensitivities.” The Arizona Daily Star first reported news of the contract.  Cramer did not know if the Trump administration’s recent move to waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of the wall helped the project or sped it up. He said he didn’t know if the project fell under those rules. In the 2018 election cycle, company owner Tommy Fisher and his wife donated $10,800 to Cramer, who championed the company’s ability to build the wall and made Fisher his guest at Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address. Democratic members of Congress raised concerns in December after Fisher was awarded a $400 million contract for border wall construction. Within two weeks, the defense department’s inspector general had launched an investigation, which is ongoing, according to Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a critic who questioned whether the contract had been properly awarded.  “If the administration cared about anything besides political optics and maximizing miles of fence in the run up to an election, they wouldn’t have awarded this contract,” Thompson said in a statement on Wednesday.  Cramer said he has personally pitched Fisher’s company to the president and others in Washington. “It will be a cold day in hell when I apologize for advocating for a North Dakota business,” Cramer said. 
…

На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 20 травня змінився тренд останніх тижнів – гривня дещо послабилася щодо долара США. За даними фахівців сайту «Мінфін», це сталося «за рахунок виходу на торги декількох крупних покупців (переважно через «Сітібанк»)».

Станом на 13:40, за даними Finance.ua, котирування сягнули 26 гривень 57,5–59,5 копійки за долар.

Національний банк України опівдні встановив довідкове значення курсу 26 гривень 57 копійок за долар, це на п’ять копійок більше за офіційний курс на 20 травня.
…

Congressional Democrats are protesting President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs. The Democratic chairs of three House panels on Tuesday demanded that Mitch Behm be reinstated immediately as acting inspector general.  FILE – President Donald Trump, accompanied by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, left, speaks at a roundtable on infrastructure at the Department of Transportation, June 9, 2017, in Washington.The lawmakers also demanded that the Trump administration turn over information about current investigations that might have played a role in Behm’s removal, including a review of whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given preferential treatment to Kentucky. Her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and a top Trump ally, is seeking reelection this year. Behm’s removal “is the latest in a series of politically motivated firings of inspectors general by President Trump,” the lawmakers wrote. “This assault on the integrity and independence of inspectors general appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse.” The letter was signed by Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation Committee; Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney of New York; and Virginia Rep. Gerald Connolly, who leads an Oversight subcommittee. A spokesman for Chao said Behm was not fired and continues to serve as deputy inspector general. Howard Elliott, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, is replacing Behm while continuing to lead the pipeline agency. “Mr. Elliott will bring decades of valuable expertise to the role of acting inspector general, both in safety and in law enforcement,” the spokesman said, noting that Elliott came out of retirement to lead the pipeline agency after serving as safety chief for CSX Transportation, a large freight rail company. The removals of Linick and Behm are part of a pattern of Trump taking aim at inspectors general. In April, he fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community, for his role in the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment. Then Trump removed Glenn Fine as acting inspector general at the Defense Department. The move stripped him of his post as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, one of several watchdog groups overseeing the vast economic relief law passed by Congress in response to the coronavirus crisis.  Trump also has moved to replace an inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services who wrote a report that found hospitals faced severe shortages of coronavirus tests and supplies. Trump questioned the veracity of the report and the independence of the HHS official, Christi Grimm. a career employee who has served as acting inspector general since January. Trump has nominated a permanent replacement, an appointment that requires Senate confirmation. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called Trump’s firings of Linick and other officials a “threat to accountable democracy.” “The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose. It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power,” Romney tweeted Saturday. Romney is the only Senate Republican who voted to convict Trump of abuse of power in his impeachment trial earlier this year. Trump responded to Romney’s tweet by calling him a “LOSER” on Twitter. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has called for the White House to explain the dismissals of Linick and Atkinson, the intelligence community watchdog. Grassley, a Trump ally, said Congress intended that inspectors general only be removed when there is clear evidence of unfitness, wrongdoing or failure to perform the duties of the office. “An expression of lost confidence, without further explanation, is not sufficient,” he said. Trump has designated Howard Elliott, head of a Transportation Department agency that oversees pipeline safety, to replace Behm as acting inspector general. Elliott will keep his job at the pipeline agency, reporting to Chao, which the three House Democrats said was a conflict of interest. The DOT spokesman said officials expect Elliott to recuse himself from audits or investigations of the pipeline agency. Still, the lawmakers asked for information regarding ongoing audits, inspections, investigations, evaluations, reviews and other communications regarding Behm’s removal and Elliott’s qualifications to be inspector general. Any attempt by Chao or her office to interfere with an inspector general’s investigation “is illegal and will be thoroughly examined by our committees,” they wrote.   
…

The U.S. Navy warned Tuesday it will take “lawful defensive measures” against vessels in the Mideast that come within 100 meters (yards) of its warships, offering specific guidelines after a recent close encounter with Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf.Defensive measures have typically included turning a ship away from the approaching vessel, sounding its horn, shooting off flares and ultimately firing warning shots to force the vessel away. But offering a specific distance is new for the Navy.”Our ships are conducting routine operations in international waters wherever international law allows and do not seek conflict,” said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Bahrain-based 5th Fleet spokeswoman. “However, our commanding officers retain the right to self-defense if deemed necessary.”While 100 meters may seem far, it’s incredibly close for large warships that have difficulty in turning quickly, like aircraft carriers.The U.S. Navy has years of experience with Iranian forces getting that close, namely the hard-line, paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Their armed speedboats routinely cut across their paths when going through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes.Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. ever since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Last summer saw a series of escalating attacks targeting oil tankers and other sites around the Persian Gulf. It reached a crescendo in January with the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and an Iranian ballistic missile strike of American forces in Iraq in retalation.Those tensions had been expected to rise after  Iran’s government overcame the initial chaos that engulfed its response to the coronavirus pandemic. In April, the U.S. accused Iran of conducting “dangerous and harassing” maneuvers near American warships in the northern Persian Gulf. Iran also had been suspected of briefly seizing a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker just before that.In April, Trump warned on Twitter: “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” 
…

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for global solidarity with Africa as an essential part of ending the coronavirus pandemic, saying international action is needed to help strengthen its health care systems and food supply and to avoid a financial crisis. Guterres said Wednesday he commends African countries and the African Union for acting quickly to enforce quarantines and border closures, and to rely on regional cooperation to try to stop the spread of the virus. “But the pandemic threatens African progress.  It will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease.  Already, demand for Africa’s commodities, tourism and remittances are declining.  The opening of the trade zone has been pushed back – and millions could be pushed into extreme poverty,” he said. In additional to urging international efforts to support education and protect jobs, Guterres also called for African countries to have “equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment.” The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says COVID-19 has killed more than 2,800 people. The largest numbers of confirmed cases in Africa are in South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.A man wearing a protective face mask is seen on the first day of the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, in Lagos, Nigeria, May 4, 2020.Egypt has announced stay-at-home orders for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and now says starting May 30 that wearing masks will be required in public. In China, where the outbreak began in December, officials in the northeastern province of Jilin are trying to contain a new cluster of cases, including four new infections reported Wednesday. Venezuela is also trying to contain an uptick in cases along its border with Brazil and Colombia. Authorities said there were 131 new cases over the course of 24 and linked the increase to migrants returning home. Migrant workers in India will be getting more help in returning to their homes from big cities with Indian Railways announcing that beginning June 1 it will be operating twice as many special trains.  Health screenings and wearing masks are mandatory for riders. June 1 will also bring the opening of bars, restaurants, movie theaters and concert halls in the Netherlands as the country moves to a new phase of its easing of coronavirus restrictions. The country has seen weeks of declining deaths and new infections, but Prime Minister Mark Rutte said people will need to continue observing social distancing measures as businesses resume operations. Worldwide there are more than 4.9 million confirmed cases and 323,000 deaths from COVID-19. 
…

President Donald Trump is doubling down on his decision to take a controversial drug despite scant evidence that the anti-malaria drug is effective at stopping infection or cures patients with the coronavirus. On another front, the president is pushing forward with his threat to permanently withdraw funding from the World Health Organization. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. 
…

A federal judge Tuesday ordered Texas to allow any of the state’s 16 million voters to cast a ballot by mail over fears of the coronavirus, paving the way for what would be one of the most dramatic expansions of mail-in voting in the country. The decision is unlikely to be the last word. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in recent weeks has suggested that steering voters toward wrongly applying for mail-in ballots could result in prosecution, said the state would appeal. He called the ruling by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery a dismissal of “well-established law.”  The fight in Texas is just one of several court battles across the country over efforts, mainly by Democrats, to expand access to mail-in ballots amid the pandemic. In Wisconsin, where election officials drew widespread criticism for holding its April 7 presidential primary even as other states delayed voting, a new lawsuit filed Monday argued that not enough has been done since then to ensure that the upcoming elections can be conducted safely and fairly. Voting by mail in Texas is generally limited to those 65 or older or those with a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents voting in person. In a lengthy ruling, Biery rejected Paxton’s assertion that fear of getting the virus doesn’t qualify as a disability under the law. “Clearly, fear and anxiety currently gripping the United States has limited citizens’ physical movements, affected their mental senses and constricted activities, socially and economically,” Biery wrote.  He also dismissed claims that expanding mail-in voting would invite fraud in Texas, citing scant evidence.  The ruling came just days after the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republicans, handed Paxton a victory by blocking a lower ruling in state court that cleared the way for widespread vote-by-mail. Officials in Tennessee are also fighting efforts to expand mail-in voting under a similar defense as Texas, saying fear of contracting the coronavirus doesn’t meet medical criteria. “It is time for a few state officers to stop trying to force people to expose themselves to COVID-19 in order to vote,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.  Texas is pressing ahead with one of the swiftest re-openings in the country. On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott gave permission to reopen practically every facet of daily life in Texas, including bars and child daycare centers, lifting most full lockdown orders. He said social distancing measures must still be in place, such as limits on customers and no fans at sports events. Texas has nearly 50,000 cases and at least 1,300 deaths related to the virus. The number of cases has climbed since Texas began lifting stay-at-home orders May 1, but Abbott has defended the speed by emphasizing that hospitalizations have remained flat and infection rates have dropped since April.  President Donald Trump has claimed mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and “cheaters,” even as his reelection campaign and state allies are scrambling to launch operations meant to help their voters cast ballots in the mail. Other states have moved to expand absentee voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, including some controlled by Republicans, but Paxton has maintained that fear of getting the virus doesn’t qualify as a disability under the law. Texas will hold primary runoff elections in July. Abbott has already expanded early voting for that election, which will decide the nominees in key congressional races and which Democrat will face Republican Sen. John Cornyn.  
…

Компанія Exxon Mobil знову виставила на продаж свою частку в найбільшому нафтовому родовищі Азербайджану – попри те, що через спричинене коронавірусом історичне зниження цін на нафту ціна на цей актив упала.

Речниця американського енергетичного гіганта Джулі Кінґ заявила, що Exxon Mobil «перевіряє ринковий інтерес» до своїх активів в Азербайджані. Компанія регулярно проводить оцінку свого виробничого портфеля і «якщо інші компанії знайдуть більшу цінність в активі, ми продамо», передеає Reuters слова речниці 19 травня.

Exxon Mobil уперше спробувала продати свою частку (6,8%) в родовищі Азері-Чираг-Гунашлі в Каспійському морі в 2018 році. Але в той же час компанія-конкурент Chevron змогла продати більшу частку в цьому бізнесі. Chevron продала свої 9,8% акцій угорській енергетичній фірмі MOL Group за 1,57 мільярда доларів у 2019 році.

Незрозуміло, скільки Exxon Mobil прагне отримати від продажу, однак це може бути значно нижча ціна, ніж мав Chevron.

Деякі азійські національні нафтові компанії, в тому числі Китайська національна офшорна нафтова корпорація (CNOOC), індійський ONGC та індонезійська Pertamina, виявили інтерес до акцій, повідомляє Reuters із посиланням на свої джерела.

Представник національної нафтової компанії Азербайджану SOCAR відмовився від коментарів, повідомляє Reuters.

Різке падіння цін на нафту змусило Exxon Mobil повідомити в першому кварталі 2020 року про перші квартальні втрати за десятиліття.

Спроба продати частку в азербайджанському нафтовому родовищі відбувається після того, як торік компанія, базована в Техасі, розпочала план виведення до 25 мільярдів доларів із родовищ нафти і газу в Європі, Азії та Африці.
…

China has lashed out at Australia and the United States for what it calls political manipulation of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Australia has been at the forefront of calls for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus pandemic and the response to it, and U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed China for the global pandemic. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne praised the World Health Resolution passed Tuesday that demands an independent “comprehensive evaluation” of the organization’s global response to the coronavirus pandemic. The resolution was submitted to the World Health Assembly by the European Union and other WHO members.  Payne described it as “a win for the international community.”  Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday that China would welcome the investigation if Australia would return to the broad consensus of the international community. He said Beijing has always supported a comprehensive review of the pandemic as long as it is led by the WHO and conducted in professional and impartial manner. But U.S. President Donald Trump says the WHO is not impartial. He has accused the international agency of covering up for China, whom he blames for the global health crisis. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to permanently cut off U.S. funding for the WHO, which he had already put on hold. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response, in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 18, 2020, in Washington.China accused Trump on Tuesday of conducting a smear campaign against Beijing and said the United States is shirking its international obligations. No dates have been set for conducting the evaluation, but China has said it should be done after the pandemic is over. Most experts agree that the coronavirus may not disappear any time soon, even if a vaccine is produced.   Nearly 4.9 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and about 323,000 have died from it, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.  China is experiencing a new wave of infections in its northeastern Jilian province, prompting the government to place thousands of residents under quarantine.     Brazil, Peru and Mexico also are experiencing a spike of COVID-19 cases after the outbreak calmed in Europe and is leveling in the United States. New cases are growing in Africa.   Chinese President Xi Jinping announced Monday that his country would donate $2 billion to fight the coronavirus pandemic and send physicians and supplies to developing countries, especially in Africa.  Scientists say the virus likely spread from a Wuhan market selling exotic and wild animals for food, and environmentalists and animal rights activists have demanded the elimination of the so-called “wet” markets. The Chinese government has banned the sale of wild animals for food as part of its effort to stop the spread of the virus, but the trade is still legal for other purposes, such as research. The official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday that two central provinces, Hunan and Jiangxi, have come up with a program to buy out breeders of wild animals and help them transition to other livelihoods. 
…

Kenyan authorities forcibly evicted over 7,000 people from Nairobi slums this month, despite a court order, and in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a small riot.  Authorities say they demolished the homes because they were built on public land.  But some of those who were evicted claim to have bought the land.  Critics note mass evictions during a pandemic are inhumane and could further spread the virus, as Mohammed Yusuf reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa
…

Kenyan authorities have forcibly evicted more than 7,000 people from land in Nairobi slums over the last month, defying a court order. Authorities say they demolished homes because they were built on public land, but critics say mass evictions during a pandemic are inhumane and could further spread the coronavirus.Forty-two-year-old Daniel Ndungu saw the three tractors coming before his home was demolished last week.”We saw police officers coming into the area,” he said. “They blocked the road and left the only one used by tractors. At around nine they started demolition. They didn’t care whether there were children in the house or anything else. They began demolition.”Daniel Ndungu, 42, stands at his demolished home in Ruai area in Nairobi. (Mohammed Yusuf/VOA)Defying a court order, authorities on Friday forcibly evicted Ndungu’s family and other Nairobi slum dwellers, making them homeless in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.Ndungu says he has nowhere to go and no money to move, so he will stay in the cold and wait. Others moved into the crowded dwellings of friends and relatives.The evictions, which started in April, left more than 5,000 people homeless earlier this month in Nairobi’s Kariobangi neighborhood.The state-run Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NSWSC) claims ownership of the land and says the families have been occupying it illegally since 2008.”People are told this in advance: You are sitting on public land, there is a project that is terminating here, we may probably open up and open sewage in this direction,” said Fred Matiangi, interior minister. “People know this but, then people either … don’t move or just continue staying there.”A mother and her child remain in the demolished area of Ruai days after their home was demolished. (Mohammed Yusuf/VOA)Thirty-seven-year-old butcher Hussein Wako says he has government receipts showing he owns the land he was forced to leave.But public land is too often sold illegally in Kenya, leaving those who were cheated out of their money – like Wako – homeless.”They demolished our home and poor people’s homes,” Wako said. “I slept in the cold for two days, and there is a coronavirus pandemic. They told us to go back home when we demonstrated against the demolition. They disrupted it and tear gassed us.”A small riot erupted earlier this month as the evicted clashed with police in Kariobangi and set fire to cars and tires.A Kenyan high court ordered a halt to further demolitions until a petition by residents is heard in June. But for the thousands of Kenyans already left homeless, and those still being evicted, there is little hope for justice.    
 
…

Etihad Airways flew aid for the Palestinians amid the coronavirus pandemic from the capital of the United Arab Emirates into Israel on Tuesday, marking the first known direct commercial flight between the two nations.The flight came as the UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula, has no formal diplomatic ties to Israel over its occupation of land wanted by the Palestinians for a future state.However, it marks an open moment of cooperation between the countries after years of rumored back-channel discussions between them over the mutual enmity of Iran.  Etihad, a state-owned, long-haul carrier, confirmed it sent a flight Tuesday to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.  “Etihad Airways operated a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on 19 May to provide medical supplies to the Palestinians,” the airline told The Associated Press. “The flight had no passengers on board.”In the past, private and diplomatic planes often had to travel to a third country before heading onto Israel.  Emirati government officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.  The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency later issued a statement saying it delivered 14 tons of protective gear, medical items and ventilators “to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the occupied Palestinian territory.” It did not acknowledge the flight nor its significance.The Israel Airports Authority confirmed the cargo flight landed at Ben Gurion on Tuesday night.An Israeli official said the flight would be delivering humanitarian aid provided by the UAE to the Palestinians and that the cargo flight was coordinated with the Israeli government. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.Neither the Gaza Strip nor the West Bank have their own airports, meaning most cargo bound for Palestinian territory must enter through Israel. That likely required an airlift of the material from the UAE, which hosts humanitarian stockpiles for the United Nations.The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms founded in 1971, had no significant history with Jews. While not acknowledging Israel diplomatically, Emirati officials have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.Next year, Israel will take part in its delayed Expo 2020, the world’s fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai.  The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.The extent of Gulf Arab ties with Israel is still mostly kept private, though. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have allegedly used Israeli spyware to go after government critics.Oman, which has ties with Iran, hosted the Israeli prime minister in a surprise visit in 2018  that served to remind Washington of its unique ability to be a conduit for talks.But such ties remain highly contentious among the Arab public, particularly as the Palestinians remain without a state of their own despite decades of talks.  Tensions also rose between Israel and the UAE after suspected Mossad assassins killed a top Hamas operative in a Dubai hotel room in 2010, something never acknowledged by Israel. In the time since, however, Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still can’t make a phone call between the two countries.Israel and the Palestinian Authority imposed sweeping lockdowns in mid-March aimed at containing the virus, limiting travel and public gatherings and forcing nonessential businesses to close. Many of the restrictions have been lifted in recent weeks as the rate of new infections has declined.Israel has reported more than 16,600 cases and around 270 deaths, with more than 13,000 of the patients having recovered. The Palestinian Authority has reported around 390 cases and two fatalities, with around 340 people having recovered.The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying conditions.  The Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third-holiest site in Islam, will reopen next week after the conclusion of a major holiday marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. It follows weeks of closure aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. It had been closed since March over the virus.Meanwhile on Tuesday, Etihad also acknowledged it had fired staffers over the pandemic grounding flights worldwide.  “It is clear the demand for travel in the near future will be significantly reduced and as a result we must make difficult decisions to ensure Etihad will weather this storm,” the airline said in a statement, without offering any details.Since 2016, Etihad has lost a total of $5.62 billion as it struggles to restructure.   
…