Thousands of Cubans have taken part in rare protests against the communist government, chanting, “Down with the dictatorship,” as President Miguel Diaz-Canel called on his supporters to confront the demonstrators.
The anti-government rallies started spontaneously in several cities as the country endures its worst economic crisis in 30 years, with chronic shortages of electricity and food.
Police used tear gas to disperse crowds, and at least 10 people were arrested, while officers used plastic pipes to beat protesters, AFP journalists witnessed.
Several hundred protesters marched through the capital Havana chanting liberty songs with a heavy military and police presence deployed after demonstrators massed outside the Capitol building.
Several thousand protesters – mainly young people – also took to the streets of San Antonio de los Banos, a town 30 kilometres southwest of Havana.
Security forces arrived soon after the protests began, and Diaz-Canel later visited the town himself surrounded by party activists as residents heckled him, according to videos posted online.
The president delivered a combative television address, calling on all revolutionaries of the country, all communists, to go out in the streets where these provocations occur… and to face them in a decisive, firm and courageous way.
Government supporters held some counter-demonstrations in Havana.
England and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford apologised for his penalty shootout miss but said he “will never apologise for who I am” after he was one of three players subjected to racist abuse following England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
Rashford, along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their spot-kicks.
All three were targeted on social media after the game.
“I felt as if I’d let everyone down,” Rashford wrote in a statement.
The 23-year-old added: “I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.
“I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands.”
A mural in Rashford’s hometown of Withington was defaced after his penalty miss, before it was covered in messages of support.
Earlier on Monday, England boss Gareth Southgate said the racist abuse issued after the defeat was “unforgivable”, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Football Association have also condemned it.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the abuse and said “it will not be tolerated”, while the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) has also launched an investigation.
Messages of support were posted on a Marcus Rashford mural in his hometown after it was initially defaced
Marcus Rashford’s statement in full:
“I don’t even know where to start and I don’t even know how to put into words how I am feeling at this exact time.
“I’ve had a difficult season, I think that’s been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I’ve always backed myself for a penalty, but something didn’t feel quite right.
“During the long run-up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my team-mates down. I felt as if I’d let everyone down. A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep, so why not that one?
“It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of gone differently.
“Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shout out my team-mates. This summer has been one of the best camps I’ve experienced and you’ve all played a role in that.
“A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.
“I’ve grown into a sport where I expected to read things written about myself.
“Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch.
“I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from. I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands.
“I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up.
“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that. For all the kind messages thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
100 BC Julius Caesar, Roman military and political leader was born in Rome
574 John III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1772 Captain James Cook begins 2nd voyage aboard the Resolution to the South Seas to search for Terra Australis (Southern continent)
1832 Source of Mississippi River discovered by American geographer Henry Schoolcraft
1837 Queen Victoria became the first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace
1943 Greatest tank battle in history ends with Russia’s defeat of Germany at Kursk, almost 6,000 tanks take part, 2,900 lost by Germany
1966 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founds the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement) in New York City
Today in Film & TV
1923 The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads “Hollywoodland” but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949
Today in Music
1985 “Live Aid” concerts held at both Wembley Stadium (London) and John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) raises over $70 million for African famine relief
Today in Sport
1930 1st-ever football World Cup competition begins in Uruguay
The Department of Basic Education in South Africa is calling on all teachers in the sector to participate in the National Teaching Awards happening later this year.
The NTA were established in 2000 to recognize, celebrate and acknowledge the strides made by teachers to ensure that learners are supported in order to progress from grade to grade. The NTA is in its twenty-first year of implementation.
The DBE says it intends to conduct this year’s activities in adherence to the protocols as prescribed by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The competition is open to all teachers in the public schooling sector registered in terms of the South African Schools Act. In recent years the prizes have ranged from cash prizes to cars that are sponsored by the partners of the Department who have supported the initiative.
The NTAs are aimed at motivating teachers to continue the selfless endeavors they make for the benefit of the country.
The Department has sought to improve the Teacher Appreciation and Support Programme by introducing other elements that are geared toward elevating the contribution of teachers in the education sector.
As a result of the extraordinary efforts made by teachers under extreme conditions, the Department has therefore introduced new awards to pay homage to individuals who have demonstrated commitment, dedication, and sacrifice during crisis situations.
To this end, new categories have been added amongst which; National Best Teacher Awards, S/Hero Award and the Learner Award. Other categories are Lifetime Achievement Award, National Learner Award, Excellence in Maths teaching, Grade R teaching, Special Needs, Primary school teaching, Secondary School Teaching etc.
The 21st edition is benchmarked against the worldwide teacher awards/prizes’ strategies adopted from the African Union Teacher Prize Commonwealth Education Awards and the Global Teacher Prize.
For this edition, the DBE wants to reach a broader audience of teachers and thus took a decision to adopt the characteristics of the Global Teacher Prize. As a result, this edition has been tailored differently and the additional models has been infused.
A Jordanian state security court has sentenced two former officials to serve 15 years in prison over an alleged plot against the Western-allied monarchy involving the half-brother of King Abdullah II.
Bassem Awadallah, who has U.S. citizenship and once served as a top aide to King Abdullah II, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges.
They are alleged to have conspired with Prince Hamzah, the king’s half-brother, and to have sought foreign assistance.
Lt. Col. Muwafaq al-Masaeed, a military judge, announced the verdict on Monday, following a closed-door trial that consisted of just six hearings. The two were sentenced to 15 years for each of two felonies, but the judge said only one sentence would be imposed on them.
The two were arrested in April over an alleged plot against the kingdom involving Prince Hamzah, the king’s half-brother and a former crown prince.
The royal family says it resolved the dispute with Hamzah, whose exact status is unknown but was never formally charged. Awadallah’s U.S. lawyer says his client alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life.
The three Jordanians were accused of fomenting unrest against the monarch while soliciting foreign help. Hamzah denied the allegations in video statements released in April after he was placed under house arrest, saying he was being silenced for speaking out against corruption and poor governance by the ruling system.
Abdullah is expected in Washington on July 19, when he will be the first Arab leader to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House.
The South African military says it is deploying soldiers in two provinces, including its economic hub of Johannesburg, to help police cope with looting and arson attacks on businesses.
According to a statement, the South African National Defence Force has started with pre-deployment processes and procedures in line with a request for assistance received.
It added it was assisting law enforcement agencies deployed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces respectively to quell the unrest that has gripped both Provinces in the last few days.
Soldiers could already be seen patrolling the streets of Pietermaritzburg at midday, but the army stated “deployment will begin as soon as all the processes” are in place to prepare.
The duration of the deployment and the number of soldiers mobilized will be determined “according to the assessment of the situation on the ground by the police”, the military added.
The role of the military will be to provide security and a safe working environment for law enforcement agencies to do their job in better conditions while the police, widely deployed at most of the sites of violence, have often been overwhelmed in recent days.
Looting and fires spread across the country on Monday, on the fourth day of violence initially triggered by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, and later fueled by economic desperation..
Zuma is serving time for defying a court order to testify before a state-backed inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018.
Despite his reputation for graft and scandal, the 79-year-old former anti-apartheid fighter remains popular among many poor South Africans.
J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs kick off an earnings season on Tuesday that is likely to be quite profitable for America’s largest banks as they rebound from the dark clouds of last year’s pandemic.
Big U.S. banks are poised to report a hefty rebound in quarterly earnings this week. Large loan losses, once feared, never materialized.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup had set aside a total of $33 billion to cover loans that might go unpaid.
But thanks to extraordinary government stimulus and loan repayment holidays, that never happened.
Now with Main Street opening back up and Americans returning to some sense of normalcy, the big four could set aside as little as $1 billion for potential bad loans in the second quarter.
That’s not the only good news right now for the sector.
Banks have been raking in enormous fees for takeovers, initial public offerings and the latest stock market craze: SPACS, the Special Purpose Acquisition Companies that allow start-ups to go public without the traditional IPO route.
All in all, the big four are expected to post a combined second-quarter profit of $24 billion compared with just $6 billion the same time a year ago.
But there are some potential negatives that could be more of a drag than anticipated.
Even though the bulk of consumer loans haven’t gone unpaid, the lending business is far from booming with credit card usage down.
And trading revenues, which soared last year during a period of wild volatility, are likely to have fallen as well.
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs will kick-off the earnings season before Tuesday’s market open.
London’s FTSE 100 fell on Monday, dragged down by heavyweight energy and mining stocks on lower commodity prices, while gains in insurers led by Admiral helped cut some of the losses. British motor insurer Admiral jumped 6% to the top of the FTSE 100 after it said it was on track for a higher-than-expected first-half profit due to lower motor accident claims through pandemic lockdowns. The blue-chip FTSE 100 eased 0.2% with heavyweight energy and precious mining stocks falling the most on weak commodity prices.
Among stocks, Tate & Lyle Plc rose 2.2% after it agreed to sell a controlling stake in its commercial sweeteners business in a deal that values the new standalone unit at $1.7 billion, including debt. Daily Mail and General Trust Plc was up 8.5% after it said the Rothermere family was prepared to make an 810 million pounds ($1.13 billion) bid if the divestment of its insurance risk division and Cazoo business went through. The domestically focused mid-cap index inched 0.1% higher.
The West African Examinations Council in consultation with the Ministry of Education has set July 19 to 23, 2021 as the new date for the administration of exams for third, sixth, and ninth grades.
The Council had earlier announced July 12 to 16, 2021 as the date for the administration of the examinations for the three levels.
But a press release issued over the weekend says WAEC’s decision to extend the examination timetable by a week is due to challenges that arose at the closing stages of preparations leading to the administration of the exams.
The release notes that the management of WAEC regrets the inconveniences this decision may cause its many stakeholders and the public.
The new dates for the examinations are as follows: Third grade – Monday, July 19, 2021, Sixth grade – July 20 and 21, 2021, and Ninth grade – July 22 and 23, 2021.
The management of WAEC urges school administrators to begin printing the identification slips for their sixth-graders on Monday, July 12, 2021, while modalities are being worked out to resuscitate the ninth and third-grade portals to enable them to print their candidates’ identification slips in preparation for the exams.
Additionally, it encourages principals, school administrators, and secretariats, as well as stakeholders in the educational sector to adhere strictly to the new administration dates as there will be no further extension made.
A £186m arts venue that is being built in Manchester has given the public the first chance to look inside.
The Factory is £76m over budget and is not due to open properly until 2022, three years behind schedule.
Although it is still a building site, audiences were allowed in for one weekend to see a special installation featuring dozens of glowing tents.
The Manchester International Festival will run The Factory and promises that it will “redraw the UK’s cultural map”.
The 7,000-capacity Factory will provide a permanent home for the festival, whose bosses promise that it will attract 850,000 people a year to the city and bring in £1.1bn to the economy over a decade.
The festival also claims it will “transform Manchester’s cultural output and standing” and “spearhead the recovery of the nation’s cultural sector, devastated by the pandemic.
The Factory was conceived in 2014 when then-Chancellor George Osborne pledged £78m as a cultural contribution to the Northern Powerhouse.
But the building has been beset by delays and rising budgets, with a number of changes to its design, and will have to prove its worth.
When it does fully open late next year, The Factory will host theatre, music, opera and exhibitions from major national and international names.
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