Putin makes Kremlin appearance as virus restrictions ease

President Vladimir Putin made a rare recent appearance in the Kremlin on Monday as Russia prepares to ease lockdown restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic. The 67-year-old has worked remotely over the past few weeks from his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, chairing meetings with officials by video conference.

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Beach and party crowds across US break social distancing rules over Memorial Day weekend

Despite several weeks of warnings from health officials to follow “social distancing” measures and wear face coverings in public, Americans across the US crowded beaches and parties over Memorial Day weekend, among the first tests of a post-quarantine return to “normal” amid the coronavirus pandemic, as officials end “lock-down” measures to reopen their states.Video from a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office helicopter on Saturday captured dozens of people blocking traffic near Daytona Beach, Florida, where officials required visitors to wear masks but have resigned that the mandate is “not realistic” or enforceable in large crowds.

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U.S. brings forward travel ban as Brazil surpasses its daily death toll

The White House on Monday brought forward by two days restrictions on travel to the United States from Brazil as the number of deaths from the new coronavirus in the South American nation surpassed the U.S. daily toll.

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Earthquake rattles NZ for the second time in 48 hours

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck the New Zealand city of Levin, near the country's capital Wellington, a day after a 5.8 tremor was recorded in the same area, government seismic monitor Geonet said on Tuesday.

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Republicans sue California governor over vote-by-mail order

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Democrats are using "this pandemic as a ploy to implement their partisan election agenda ..."

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Hong Kong protests flare up again, as demonstrators issue calls for independence

Hong Kong's pro-democracy, anti-government protests were back in full force Sunday for the first time since COVID-19 lockdowns began, while riot police fired tear gas on the crowds for the first time in weeks.Thousands of mostly young people took to the streets just days after China signaled it planned to directly impose national security laws against subversion, sedition and terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces on the city. The demonstrators believe Beijing's plan to bypass Hong Kong's local government and legislature violated the "one country, two systems" agreement it signed with the United Kingdom during a territorial exchange in 1997. The plan is backed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam but faced international condemnation.China has denied the move will affect Hong Kong's autonomy, but many of the protesters now think independence — considered a red line by Beijing — is the only way forward. "I think this is the termination of one country, two systems," one protester told The Wall Street Journal. "Hong Kong is lost. The most important thing is to fight back against the Communist Party." Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.More stories from theweek.com Trump still hasn't taken his annual physical and it's starting to get weird How social conservatives traded causes for clichés WHO temporarily pauses hydroxychloroquine study, citing safety concerns

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UK leader Johnson stands by aide over 250-mile lockdown trip

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday he wouldn't fire his chief aide for allegedly violating the national lockdown rules that he helped to create by driving the length of England to his parents' house while he was infected with the coronavirus. Defying a growing clamor from public and politicians, Johnson said Dominic Cummings had acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity” when he drove 250 miles (400 kilometers) from London to Durham, in northeast England, with his wife and son at the end of March. Britain's lockdown, which began March 23, stipulated that people should remain at their primary residence, leaving only for essential local errands and exercise.

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Memorial Day weekend pool party in Ozarks draws national attention

Already, the pool party footage has picked up coverage from several media outlets, including TMZ, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and others.

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Republicans sue California Gov. Newsom over his executive order to allow mail-in voting for the November election

In a lawsuit filed on Sunday, Republican groups called Newsom's executive order to allow mail-in voting a "brazen power grab."

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President told to ‘just stop’ offensive tweets by own side after lashing out with insults and conspiracy theories as US death toll heads toward 100,000

Donald Trump spent the weekend ahead of Memorial Day playing golf and pushing conspiracy theories on Twitter, insulting his political enemies like Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Stacey Abrams and insinuating that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough is guilty of murder.His tweet storm only continued on Memorial Day before he visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, and Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Delaware, to honour those who've lost their lives while fighting for America.

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Palestinian government ends coronavirus lockdown

The Palestinian government is ending its two-month coronavirus lockdown in the occupied West Bank, prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced Monday after a steady decline in new cases. Shops and businesses will operate as normal from Tuesday, while government employees will return to work after the Eid holiday on Wednesday, Shtayyeh told a press conference. Mosques, churches and public parks will also reopen, though with social distancing measures.

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UK leader's aide says he won't quit over lockdown road trip

British leader Boris Johnson’s powerful chief aide insisted Monday that he wouldn't resign for driving the length of England while the country was under strict lockdown — a trip he made without informing the prime minister first. The government is facing a tide of anger from politicians and the public over the revelation that Dominic Cummings traveled more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) from London to his parents' home in Durham, northeast England at the end of March. Cummings says he traveled so that extended family could care for his 4-year-old son if he and his wife, who had suspected coronavirus, both fell ill.

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Beijing says it will unilaterally impose national laws in Hong Kong 'without delay' as thousands take to the streets in protest

Critics worry that the new laws could hurt Hong Kong's independence and the city's position as a financial center.

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Joe Biden attacks Trump for playing golf over Memorial Day weekend as death toll heads toward 100,000 in new ad

Joe Biden has hit out at Donald Trump for playing golf on Memorial Day weekend as the coronavirus death toll continues to rise in the US to almost 100,000.The former vice president unveiled a 30-second clip displaying Mr Trump playing a round of golf at his Virginia club on Saturday.

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New York's one-day coronavirus death toll drops below 100

"Eighty-four is still a tragedy, no doubt," he said. "But the fact that it's down as low as it is is really, overall, good news."

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France wants its citizens to holiday at home this summer

The French government does not want its citizens to travel abroad this summer and recommends they take their holidays in France, Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said it was unlikely that French people would be able to undertake major foreign trips this summer and that even trips within Europe may have to be limited to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic. Borne, in an interview with France Inter radio, also said that next week the government would decide on possibly loosening rules on French domestic travel, currently limited to a maximum 100 kilometers from home.

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British PM's top aide accused of second lockdown breach: reports

A top advisor to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced fresh allegations Sunday that he had breached coronavirus lockdown rules for a second time. The British government had on Saturday rejected calls to sack Dominic Cummings over allegations he broke coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling across the country while displaying symptoms of the disease. Cummings, who announced he was suffering from coronavirus symptoms on March 30, was seen with his young son close to his parents' home in Durham, northeastern England, more than 250 miles (400 kilometres) away from his London home on March 31.

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Democratic VP contender Demings slams Trump 'gall' over Biden black voters gaffe

* Congresswoman offers glimpse of running mate role * Opinion: Black Americans are in an abusive relationship * US politics live – rolling reportVal Demings, a Democratic representative from Florida among contenders to be Joe Biden’s presidential running mate, has castigated Donald Trump for having the “gall and nerve” to use a gaffe by Biden as a weapon on the campaign trail.Biden apologised on Friday, for saying that if African Americans “have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black”.The remark prompted gleeful tweets from Trump, fierce attacks from supporters of the president and criticism from Biden’s own backers.“The vice-president shouldn’t have said it,” Demings told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.“But I really think the gall and the nerve of President Trump to try to use this in his campaign, he who has since day one done everything in his power, supported by his enablers, to divide this country, particularly along racial lines …“Look, let’s talk about race because we definitely need to, we see it in housing, we see it in voting rights, we see it in healthcare, we see it in education. Mr President, let’s do have a serious conversation about race in America and how about working for all people that you are supposed to represent, not just the privileged few.”It was the kind of fiery defence Biden would expect from someone talked about as a possible running mate.The former vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee to face Trump in November has committed to choosing a woman. Many – including the interviewer who elicited the controversial comment on Friday, radio host Charlamagne tha God – think the running mate should also be African American.“I don’t even care about the words,” Charlamagne told MSNBC’s AM Joy on Sunday, “and the lip service and the apology is cool, but the best apology is actually a black agenda. They got to make some real policy commitments to black people.”California senator Kamala Harris and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams – a target of retweets in dubious taste from Trump on Saturday night – are thought to be the most likely running mate picks.But Demings, a former Orlando police chief, delivered a decent mini-audition for a traditional running mate role by going firmly on the offensive.Asked about expressions of outrage from the Republican South Carolina senator Tim Scott and former Utah representative Mia Love, Demings said: “I think it’s interesting that the president searched high and low to find [an] African American member of the Senate and a former member of Congress to speak out on this issue.“It’d be nice to hear other Republicans, male or female, speak out.”In fact many did, including former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is of Indian heritage and who many think is lining up a White House run of her own in 2024, or could even be considered as a replacement for Mike Pence as Trump’s own pick for VP.Haley called Biden’s remark “gut wrenchingly condescending”.“Regardless of color, gender, or class, to label any individual with what he or she is expected to think, believe, and vote is demeaning and disrespectful,” she said. “Not to mention arrogant and entitled.”On Sunday, CNN host Dana Bash asked directly if Demings wanted to be vice-president. She did not answer directly, but made it clear she would serve if asked.

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Navajo Nation imposes 57-hour lockdown as virus death toll rises

Even essential businesses must remain closed as the entire tribe enters a strict lockdown for Memorial Day weekend.

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Study shows 8,000 additional deaths in Mexican capital as coronavirus rages

Mexico's capital registered 8,072 more deaths in the first five months this year than the average from the same period over the past four years, an analysis by independent researchers showed on Monday, suggesting a possible surge due to the coronavirus.

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White House brings forward Brazil travel restrictions by two days

The White House on Monday brought forward by two days restrictions on travel to the United States from Brazil that were announced after the Latin American country became the world's No. 2 coronavirus hotspot.

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Australia to outline economic recovery plans as lockdowns ease

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Tuesday outline his government's plans to revive the sputtering economy, but is expected to warn a recovery will take between three to five years.

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