Cambridge University Accused of Faustian Pact in Planned £400m Deal with UAE

THE GUARDIAN: Rights advocate says proposed partnership with emirates raises ‘profound concern’ and Cambridge documents note ‘values gap’

The University of Cambridge has been accused of entering “a Faustian pact” over plans for a £400m collaboration with the United Arab Emirates in what would be the biggest deal of its kind in the university’s history.

According to internal documents seen by the Guardian, the 10-year collaboration would help Cambridge, one of the wealthiest higher education institutions in the UK, “weather the challenges faced by universities as a result of Covid, Brexit and a constrained funding environment”.

The documents state that the UAE has pledged to commit £312m – the biggest single donation by far that the university has received – and £90m will be paid in kind through Cambridge staff time. » | Sally Weale | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Netherlands Crime Journalist Peter R. de Vries Shot in Amsterdam | DW News

Jul 7, 2021 • Dutch crime journalist Peter R. de Vries was fighting for his life after being shot and wounded in a gun attack in the center of Amsterdam on Tuesday evening.

De Vries, 64, was taken to hospital in a seriously wounded state. He had been taking part in a live television show where he was a regular guest and was shot close to the RTL studios.

In 2019, de Vries wrote on Twitter that he had been informed by police and justice officials that he was on the hit list of a fugitive criminal.

According to NOS, de Vries had recently acted as an adviser and confidant to a state witness testifying against an alleged drug kingpin, who was extradited to the Netherlands from Dubai in 2019.

Harry Nilsson : Without You

ABBA : Our Last Summer

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (Official Music Video)

Franklin Graham: LGBTQ+ Pride Celebrates Sin, Like Adultery or Murder

ADVOCATE: “This is an entire month set aside to celebrate a lifestyle that God defines as sin,” the homophobic religious leader wrote on Facebook at the end of Pride Month.

Right-wing preacher Franklin Graham says celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride is like celebrating “lying, adultery, or murder.”

Graham’s comment came in a Facebook post Saturday, marking the end of Pride Month. He quoted the BBC as saying “Pride has gone mainstream” and went on to lament that fact. “This is an entire month set aside to celebrate a lifestyle that God defines as sin,” he said.

“The Bible also tells us that God hates pride,” he continued. “Shame on the nation that celebrates and glorifies sin.” He noted that everyone sins, but added, “Instead of celebrating and taking pride in our sin, we should come to God, our Creator, in repentance, asking Him to forgive us and cleanse us.”

Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, founded by his late father, has a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, delivered supposedly in the name of Christianity. » | Trudy Ring | Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Isn’t it also a sin to make gazillions on the back of Jesus Christ, Mr. Graham? Jesus lived the simple life: he didn’t live high on the hog! Interestingly, Jesus said zippo about homosexuality. Moreover, if you are going to use Leviticus from the Old Testament to justify your bigotry, then you should also condemn so many other things that people do, too, including eating shellfish, adorning one’s body with tattoos, piercing one’s body, and men wearing make-up (see above)! (I very much doubt that Jesus wore make-up before making speeches to his followers as you do, Mr Graham.) I should ask you a very pertinent question: As a fervent Trump supporter, weren't you also supporting "sin" when you supported him? How many sex scandals has Trump allegedly been involved in? So, Mr Graham, let’s have a little consistency apropos of this topic, please. – © Mark

England’s Reopening Plan Is a ‘Dangerous Experiment’, Ministers Told

THE GUARDIAN: Health experts say ending most Covid rules on 19 July will affect certain groups disproportionately

Boris Johnson’s decision to lift a vast swath of Covid restrictions on 19 July is “a very dangerous experiment” that will disproportionately affect a host of people already susceptible to coronavirus, according to experts involved in an independent inquiry into the government’s pandemic response.

The damning report states that disabled people, those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds or those on low incomes are now at greater risk after rules on mask-wearing and self-isolation, as well as the requirement to work from home when possible, are set to be axed.

Dr Tolullah Oni, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, warned that lifting restrictions would affect communities unequally. “We’re further widening the health inequalities we’ve seen play out in the last year,” she said. » | Rachel Hall | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

What else should we expect from a dangerous, self-aggrandising fool but a “dangerous experiment”? BoJo’s government is not fit for purpose! – Mark

Just in case you have forgotten what BoJo looks like, this is he:

LGBT : si Budapest ne revient pas sur sa loi, l’UE lancera une procédure

LE QUOTIDIEN : La présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, a menacé mercredi de lancer une procédure d’infraction contre la Hongrie si elle ne revenait pas sur sa loi accusée de discriminer les personnes LGBT, qui doit entrer en vigueur jeudi.

“Si la Hongrie ne corrige pas le tir, la Commission fera usage des pouvoirs qui lui sont conférés en sa qualité de gardienne de traités”, a déclaré la responsable allemande devant le Parlement européen. Elle a de nouveau qualifié de “honte” cette loi interdisant la diffusion de contenus sur l’homosexualité auprès des mineurs. » | AFP/LQ | mercredi 7 juillet 2021

Peru’s Middle Class Shrank by Almost Half in 2020

THE RIO TIMES: According to the new data, only 24% of Peruvians now belong to that category against 43.6% in 2019 due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus health crisis.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new study released Tuesday (6) by the Institute of Economics and Business Development (Iedep) of the Lima Chamber of Commerce showed that some 6.3 million Peruvians fell out of the country’s middle-class social group during 2020.

According to the new data, only 24% of Peruvians now belong to that category against 43.6% in 2019 due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus health crisis.

The Iedep survey specified that 7.9 million people remain within the concept of the middle class, while that group consisted of about 14 million in 2019.

To be classified into that category, individuals need to at least live in four-person households with monthly incomes ranging between S/2,150 and S/10,750 (between US$560 and US$2,795).

The coronavirus crisis has thus dealt a severe blow to the country’s fight against poverty which can also be expressed as a ten-year setback, as the number of people under that line grew to be 30.1% of the population during 2020, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI). » | Latin America News | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

More news from Peru HERE »

Democracy News: Top US & World Headlines — July 7, 2021

«Tschüss Schweiz» – Warum Deutsche der Schweiz den Rücken kehren | Reportage | SRF DOK

Feb 11, 2014 • Es gibt gute Gründe, warum Deutsche der Schweiz den Rücken kehren. Heimweh, ein erfreulicher Arbeitsmarkt, staatliche Rundumhilfe bei der Job- und Wohnungssuche.

Dann aber gibt es Deutsche, die sich in der Schweiz beim besten Willen nicht emotional ansiedeln können. Zwei bewegende Beispiele.

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Faces Ruling on Extradition to US

How the 20-Year War Changed Afghanistan | FT Film

Jul 2, 2021 • An Afghan photojournalist, former politician, young musician, Nato interpreter, female filmmaker, and a student whose mother was assassinated, reveal the impact of war... as US troops pull out and the Taliban gains ground

One Year of China's Hong Kong Security Law | DW News

Jun 30, 2021 • Global rights group Amnesty International sharply criticized the national security law the Chinese government imposed on Hong Kong one year ago. It has created a "human rights emergency" in the city, it said.

Hong Kong authorities have been using the law to target dissent and justify "censorship, harassment, arrests and prosecutions that violate human rights," Amnesty added.

"In one year, the National Security Law has put Hong Kong on a rapid path to becoming a police state and created a human rights emergency for the people living there," Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said.

China introduced the controversial national security law a year ago to crack down on what it deems subversion, secessionism, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Beijing insisted the measure was needed to restore stability in Hong Kong, which witnessed huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. But rights activists and critics of the Chinese government view it as a means for Beijing to impose its will on Hong Kong and crush dissent.

Myanmar Police Defect to Anti-government Militias as Civil War Looms - BBC News

Jul 7, 2021 • As Myanmar heads towards a new civil war, the police are coming under intense pressure to decide whether to stay loyal to the military or join the civilian militia, the People’s Defence Force.

Since the military coup on 1 February, police have been used to brutally suppress mass protests. Some protesters have taken up arms to fight back, forming civilian militias called the People’s Defence Force.

The BBC has been given rare access to the first group of police officers who defected and joined the people’s side. Some of those officers even say they’re prepared to use their weapons against their former colleagues.

COVID in Latin America: Peru Struggles with Lamda Variant +++ Cuba Ships Out Vaccine | DW News

Jul 7, 2021 • Health authorities across Latin America are battling a rise in coronavirus infections. The region already has the highest COVID-19 death rate in the world. Brazil has suffered the most fatalities in the region, with more than half a million deaths. Followed by Mexico, where over 230-thousand people have died. And PERU has reported nearly 200-thousand deaths. DW's Johan Ramirez reports from Lima - where the new lambda variant is pushing the public health care system to breaking point. Cuba is expected to give the regulatory green light in the coming days to one of its vaccines against COVID-19. Cuba hopes that could help speed up vaccinations across Latin America.

EU Urged to Suspend Funds to Hungary over ‘Grave Breaches of the Rule of Law’

THE GUARDIAN: Action follows Viktor Orbán passing law banning LGBT content in schools and mishandling of EU funds

Ursula von der Leyen is being urged to suspend EU funds to Hungary to force Viktor Orbán to address concerns over politicised courts and corruption.

MEPs who work on the European parliament’s budgetary control committee are calling on the European Commission president to use a newly created EU law to freeze payments to Hungary for “grave breaches of the rule of law”.

It is the latest salvo against the Hungarian prime minister, who last month faced unprecedented criticism from fellow EU leaders over a law that bans the depiction of gay people in educational material. The European parliament is expected to condemn that law in a resolution on Thursday that will urge the commission to launch a fast-track legal case against Hungary over discrimination against LGBT people. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Trump Told Chief of Staff Hitler ‘Did a Lot of Good Things’, Book Says

THE GUARDIAN: Remark shocked John Kelly, author Michael Bender reports / Book details former president’s ‘stunning disregard for history’

On a visit to Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war, Donald Trump insisted to his then chief of staff, John Kelly: “Well, Hitler did a lot of good things.”

The remark from the former US president on the 2018 trip, which reportedly “stunned” Kelly, a retired US Marine Corps general, is reported in a new book by Michael Bender of the Wall Street Journal.

Frankly, We Did Win This Election has been widely trailed ahead of publication next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.

Bender reports that Trump made the remark during an impromptu history lesson in which Kelly “reminded the president which countries were on which side during the conflict” and “connected the dots from the first world war to the second world war and all of Hitler’s atrocities”.

Bender is one of a number of authors to have interviewed Trump since he was ejected from power.

He reports that Trump denied making the remark about Hitler.

But Bender says unnamed sources reported that Kelly “told the president that he was wrong, but Trump was undeterred”, emphasizing German economic recovery under Hitler during the 1930s. » | Martin Pengelly in Washington | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Nightmare Scenario review: Trump, Covid and a lasting national trauma »

Can You Be Gay in China? | Ricky Bradbury

Jun 22, 2021 • Ricky Bradbury has been gay in China since 2006. He’s an English teacher from Brazil and is living with his Chinese husband in south China in the last few years. In this conversation we discuss the Chinese gay community, the local LGBTQ+, gay bars, and why living here as a gay man is better than what most people may think.

What Do the Chinese Think of Gays?

Nov 1, 2020 • I did this public interview in Hebei, China, asking people what they think of homosexuals, and do they think of gays and lesbians differently. Here's what I got!

Chinese Court Ruled Homosexuality Can Be a Mental Disorder

Mar 3, 2021 • An eastern Chinese provincial court in China has upheld that homosexual behaviors can be considered a personality disorder in a recent verdict despite appeals.

Democracy Now : Top US & World Headlines — July 6, 2021

Welsh Red: Ex-postal Worker and Retired Nurse Grab Gold with a Pinot Noir

THE GUARDIAN: Monmouthshire’s White Castle Vineyard scoops top prize against global rivals in prestigious blind tasting award

First it was English winemakers that had vineyards in traditional wine-making regions such as France looking over their shoulder, now it is Wales, after a “deliciously fresh” pinot noir from Monmouthshire scooped a prestigious wine award.

White Castle Vineyard’s “pinot noir reserve 2018”, a red wine that costs £25.50 a bottle, has become the first Welsh vintage to win a gold medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Robb Merchant, a former Royal Mail worker who runs White Castle with his wife, Nicola, a retired nurse, described the win as “fantastic” for the vineyard which had been his “wife’s dream” to establish. » | Zoe Wood | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Covid-19 : le confinement de Sydney prolongé

LE POINT : Les habitants de la ville la plus peuplée d’Australie, reconfinés depuis le 26 juin, vont devoir faire avec cette mesure au moins une semaine supplémentaire.

Les autorités australiennes ont annoncé que la ville de Sydney allait être confinée pour au moins une semaine supplémentaire face au regain épidémique du Covid-19 et de son variant Delta. Les cinq millions d’habitants de la ville la plus peuplée d’Australie vivent depuis le 26 juin avec l’interdiction de sortir de chez eux pour tenter de contenir la progression du virus. Censée durer deux semaines, cette mesure a été prolongée mercredi d’au moins sept jours. Ce qui signifie que le confinement sera au minimum en vigueur jusqu’au 16 juillet.

« Ce variant Delta change la donne, il est extrêmement transmissible », a déploré Gladys Berejiklian, Première ministre de Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, État ayant Sydney pour capitale. « Nous ne voulons pas nous retrouver dans la position où il faudrait constamment passer de confinement en déconfinement », a-t-elle ajouté, expliquant que prolonger le confinement était « la meilleure façon pour faire en sorte que ce soit notre seul confinement avant que toute la population soit vaccinée ». Les habitants ne peuvent actuellement sortir que pour acheter des denrées essentielles, obtenir des soins médicaux, faire de l’exercice, aller à l’école ou au travail s’ils ne peuvent pas travailler à domicile. » | Source AFP | mercredi 7 juillet 2021

Regards énamourés et tendres étreintes : Jodie Foster et son épouse Alexandra Hedison au Festival de Cannes

LE FIGARO : La photographe de 51 ans et l’actrice de 58 ans, qui a reçu la Palme d'or d'honneur du Festival de Cannes, ont esquissé une apparition remarquée sur le tapis rouge, ce mardi 6 juillet, à l’occasion de la cérémonie d’ouverture de l’événement.

Elle lui a, tour à tour, présenté Spike Lee et Maggie Gyllenhaal. Jodie Foster est ainsi apparue au bras d’Alexandra Hedison, son épouse depuis 2014, lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture du Festival de Cannes, qui se tenait ce mardi 6 juillet. L’actrice de 58 ans, qui a reçu la Palme d'or d'honneur, et la photographe de 51 ans, ont esquissé une arrivée remarquée sur le tapis rouge de l’événement. Toutes deux ont ainsi affiché leur complicité, entre regards énamourés, tendres étreintes, baiser volé et éclats de rire. » | Par Chloé Friedmann 1 | mardi 6 juillet 2021

Der Klimawandel öffnet die Schleusen des Himmels

TAGES ANZEIGER: Modellrechnungen sagen schon seit Jahrzehnten vorher, dass Starkniederschläge in einer wärmeren Welt heftiger ausfallen. Das wird nun durch eine globale Datenstudie bestätigt.

Die vom Menschen verursachte Erderwärmung hat Starkniederschläge bereits in den letzten Jahrzehnten intensiviert, und zwar global – genau wie es Klimamodelle vorausgesagt hatten. Das zeigt eine aktuelle im Fachmagazin «Nature Communications» erschienene Studie. «Das ist sowohl methodisch als auch im Bezug auf die Datensätze die wohl vollständigste Studie, die den menschlichen Einfluss auf die Starkniederschläge belegt», sagt der Klimaforscher Reto Knutti von der ETH Zürich, der nicht an der Studie beteiligt ist. » | Joachim Laukenmann | Dienstag 6. Juli 2021

Biden warnt vor Ausbreitung der Delta-Variante

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINER ZEITUNG: Der Kampf gegen das Coronavirus ist aus Sicht des amerikanischen Präsidenten noch nicht vorbei. Er sieht Impfverweigerer in Gefahr: Nahezu jeder Covid-19-Todesfall treffe Ungeimpfte.

Angesichts der Ausbreitung der Delta-Variante des Coronavirus hat der amerikanische Präsident Joe Biden die Amerikaner abermals eindringlich zum Impfen aufgerufen. Die potentiell gefährlichere Delta-Variante sei in manchen Teilen der Vereinigten Staaten bereits für die Hälfte aller Infektionen verantwortlich, sagte Biden am Dienstag im Weißen Haus. „Unser Kampf gegen dieses Virus ist nicht vorbei.“

Biden kündigte neue Maßnahmen seiner Regierung an, um die Impfquote zu erhöhen. So sollen unter anderem Helfer in Gemeinden von Tür zu Tür gehen, um über Impfungen zu informieren. Auch mobile Kliniken sollen verstärkt zum Einsatz kommen. » | Quelle: dpa | Mittwoch 7. Juli 2021

Aux Etats-Unis, l’ouragan Elsa se rapproche des côtes de Floride

LE MONDE : Elsa, temporairement rétrogradé samedi en tempête tropicale, est le premier ouragan de la saison dans l’Atlantique. Il devrait toucher terre « mercredi matin » en Floride.

La saison des ouragans a démarré aux Etats-Unis. Après avoir frappé les Caraïbes, la tempête Elsa, redevenue un ouragan, se dirigeait, mardi 6 juillet, vers les côtes de Floride. A 23 heures mardi (5 heures à Paris, mercredi), Elsa se trouvait, selon le Centre national des ouragans (NHC), juste devant la baie de Tampa, accompagnée « de fortes pluies et de rafales de vent se propageant à l’intérieur des terres dans le sud-ouest et le centre-ouest de la Floride ». » | Le Monde avec AFP | mardi 7 juillet 2021

Egypt : When a Search Crosses the Line

THE NEW YORK TIMES: These women crossed paths with the Egyptian justice system./ Each said she was sexually abused by the authorities.

These women were either arrested for speaking out or had gone to the authorities to report a crime.

In each case, they said, they were sexually abused by the officials sworn to protect them.

Whether they are victims of crimes, witnesses or the accused, women who encounter Egypt’s criminal justice system risk being taken aside and stripped, groped, prodded and violated.

This treatment is illegal, but in this authoritarian and patriarchal country, there is almost nothing they can do about it.

The women in these videos, speaking publicly for the first time, described sexual violations that they said were committed in police stations, prisons and hospitals. » | By Mona El-Naggar, Yousur Al-Hlou and Aliza Aufrichtig | Monday, July 5, 2021

Read in Arabic HERE »

History of Homosexuality on Film

July 2, 2015 – With gay marriage now legal in America, let's take a look back at how homosexuality has been portrayed on film. It's 120 years of misrepresentation in 10 minutes!

Foreigner : I Don't Want to Live Without You (Tradução)

Afghan Anger over US’s Sudden, Silent Bagram Departure

THE GUARDIAN: Military officials say troops turned off power and slipped away without notifying new commander

US forces plunged their main operating base in Afghanistan into darkness and abandoned it to looters when they slipped away in the middle of the night after two decades at the site without notifying their Afghan allies.

The furtive departure from Bagram airbase, which is vital to the security of Kabul and holds about 5,000 mostly Taliban prisoners, infuriated the Afghans. Many saw it as emblematic of a withdrawal they say is being carried out entirely to fit an American political schedule, with no heed for the collapsing security situation on the ground.

“People are saying: ‘The Americans didn’t ask Afghans about coming here, and they didn’t consult Afghans about leaving’,” said one senior official.

Much of northern Afghanistan, once an anti-Taliban stronghold, has fallen to the group in the last two weeks, and the militants have made substantial advances across the rest of the country. Afghanistan has just over 400 districts, and the Taliban now hold nearly half, and are fighting for many more. » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul and Peter Beaumont | Tuesday July 6, 2021

Coronavirus: Covid Rules to End, But with Cases Rising Is It the Right Time? - BBC Newsnight

ul 5, 2021 • Boris Johnson announces the end of most Covid restrictions in England. But are we prepared, and able, to be our own risk managers?

UK PM Boris Johnson announces face masks will no longer be legally required and distancing rules will be scrapped at the final stage of England's Covid lockdown roadmap.

The rule of six inside private homes will be removed and work-from-home guidance abolished as 16 months of on-off restrictions on daily life end.

The PM said he expected the final step would go ahead as planned on 19 July.

This will be confirmed on 12 July after a review of the latest data.

Newsnight's political editor Nick Watt reports.

COVID-19: Should We Be Scared Of Virus Variants? | COVID-19 Special

Jul 6, 2021 • Many countries are racing to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus amid fears that the highly transmissible delta variant could spark another COVID wave and overwhelm health systems.

Scientists have predicted that the delta variant could account for 90% of all new cases in Europe by the end of August. However, evidence shows that the spread of the delta variant is cause for caution — but not panic.

Venezuela : Joe Biden réaffirme le soutien américain au leader de l’opposition, Juan Guaido

LE MONDE : Les Etats-Unis, comme une cinquantaine de pays, n’ont pas reconnu l’élection du président Nicolas Maduro lors du scrutin de 2018 boycotté par l’opposition.

Le président américain, Joe Biden, a réaffirmé dans un courrier lundi 5 juillet, jour de la fête nationale vénézuélienne, le soutien de son pays au leader de l’opposition vénézuélienne Juan Guaido, qu’il reconnaît comme le président par intérim.

« Plus que jamais, nous restons déterminés à soutenir la lutte pour la liberté pour tous les Vénézuéliens à travers une transition pacifique et démocratique », a écrit le président américain dans une lettre adressée à « M. le président ». » | Le Monde avec AFP | mardi 6 juillet 2021

Incroyable ! – Mark

Joe Cocker : Up Where We Belong

How Coming Out Heals Your Life

Jul 19, 2012 • After Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean came out, I got to thinking about my own coming out at age 12 and how it affected my life. I found it to be an extremely healing experience that wasn't easy at first, but led me toward greater peace and wholeness. Telling the truth can challenging for many, but it will bring your destiny closer to you; it will ignite your life and give your struggle greater meaning and purpose. It will set you free.

Powerful! – Mark

Homosexuality: It's about Survival - Not Sex | James O'Keefe | TEDxTallaght

Nov 15, 2016 • This passionate talk from Dr. James O'Keefe MD gives us a deeply personal and fascinating insight into why homosexuality is indeed a necessary and extraordinarily useful cog in nature's wheel of perfection.

James H O'Keefe MD, is a Board Certified Cardiologist and Director of both the Charles & Barbara Duboc Cardio Health & Wellness Center and the Preventive Cardiology service at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His postgraduate training included a cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr O’Keefe is board-certified in Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiac CT Imaging. He is consistently ranked among the ‘Top Doctor’ lists regionally and nationally as one of America’s Top Rated Physicians in Cardiology. He has been named as one of USA Today’s Most Influential Doctors. Dr O’Keefe has contributed more than 300 articles to the medical literature and has authored best-selling cardiovascular books for health professionals including: The Complete Guide to ECGs (which is used for Cardiology Board Certification), Dyslipidemia Essentials, and Diabetes Essential.

Afghan Forces Flee as Taliban Advances in the North | DW News

Jul 5, 2021 • Over the weekend, Afghan government troops in the north of the country, abandoned their posts and fled to neighboring Tajikistan. The reason, a Taliban advance they felt they were ill-equipped to oppose.

It's a pattern playing out across the country, with the Taliban now controlling about one-third of the country's 421 districts. These gains come as international troops continue to pull-out from the country. A scenario that's left many Afghans worried about their future.

Also neighboring Pakistan, has long been seen as having influence over the Taliban. For that reason, Pakistan's involvement in the peace process is seen as crucial to its outcome.

Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban go way back: The group itself was formed in the early 1990s primarily by Pashtun students in Pakistani madrassas or Islamic religious schools. Pakistan was one of only three countries that recognised the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. And in the last few years, Pakistan has played a key role in bringing the Taliban to the talks table.

Doris Day - Whatever Will Be Will Be – Que Sera Sera

Doris Day - Move Over Darling

Percy Faith & His Orchestra - A Summer Place - 1959

Opinion: From Junk Food Ad Bans to New Smoking Bans: The UK Is in an Age of State Intervention

CITY A.M. : We have slipped into a new age of state intervention. Even after a year of unprecedented interference in our everyday lives, attacks on personal freedoms are emerging from every quarter. Take gambling, for example. The government’s review of the Gambling Act looks set to introduce new spend limits to dictate what people can and can’t do with their money, with some calling for it to be illegal to spend more than £100 per month.

Elsewhere in gratuitous growth of the state in the name of public health, the government has finally signed off on its plan to ban advertising for what it deems “junk food” in an effort to curb obesity, albeit a slightly watered-down version which promises not to criminalise family-run bakeries posting pictures of cakes on Instagram.

There is no disagreement whatsoever in the science on this. All the evidence demonstrates that it will do much more harm than good. The government’s own in-house analysis of the policy concluded that it will remove a grand total of 1.7 calories from children’s diets per day – roughly half a Smartie. » | Jason Reed * | Thursday, July 1, 2021

* Jason Reed is the UK lead at Young Voices and a policy fellow with the Consumer Choice Centre.

Xavier Bettel toujours hospitalisé, son état jugé “sérieux mais stable”

LE QUOTIDIEN : Le Premier ministre Xavier Bettel restait lundi hospitalisé en observation suite à son infection au Covid, en raison de la persistance des symptômes, a indiqué le ministère d’État dans l’après-midi.

Durant le week-end, les symptômes constatés (fièvre et maux de tête) ne se sont pas atténués, ce qui a mené le Premier ministre à être hospitalisé par précaution dimanche. Une saturation d’oxygène insuffisante a été diagnostiquée et Xavier Bettel est depuis placé sous surveillance médicale continue, précise le ministère d’État.

Actuellement, l’état de santé du Premier ministre “est jugé sérieux, mais stable”, soulignent ses services, ajoutant que le personnel soignant a de fait décidé qu’une hospitalisation reste actuellement nécessaire afin de pouvoir poursuivre l’observation, “ceci pour une durée estimée à 2-4 jours”. Selon l’un de ses collaborateurs, Xavier Bettel “a le souffle court mais n’est pas intubé”. » | LQ | lundi 5 juillet 2021

The Beach Boys : God Only Knows (Remastered)

Growing Up Illegally Gay - Four Life Stories | 'I Am...' Short Film

Oct 2, 2017 • What was it like growing up being illegally gay? Before 1967, homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom. Through the decades, thousands of gay men were prosecuted for consensual homosexual acts.

This film tells the incredible stories of four elderly gay men who lived through this time. We hear about their double lives, heartbreaks, being arrested, coming out, losing friends to suicide and what they would say to their younger selves.

…

This short film premiered at Buffer Festival, Toronto 2017 to mark 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts in the UK.

LGBT Seniors Tell Their Stories | LA LGBT Center

March 28, 2013 – An Oral History is an ongoing project of the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Senior Services Department. This short film captures the perspective of eleven LGBT seniors in Los Angeles who came of age during a time in which imprisonment, daily discrimination, physical violence and abuse were commonplace. Exemplifying elegant survival, the individuals you will meet in An Oral History, made the community we have today possible. From the "Daughters of Bilitis" and "Mattachine Society" to the marches led by Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, the history of the LGBT movement has often been forgotten, overlooked or ignored. This is an attempt to give voice to and shine the light on the stories and lives of these individuals.