A United Arab Emirates spacecraft rocketed into blue skies from a Japanese launch center Monday at the start of a seven-month journey to Mars on the Arab world s first interplanetary mission. The liftoff of the Mars orbiter named Amal, or Hope, starts a rush to fly to Earth s neighbor that is scheduled to be followed in the next few days by China and the United States. At the space center in Dubai, people watching were transfixed by the liftoff, then cheered and clapped, with one woman with offering a celebratory cry common for weddings. Amal blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket on time at 6:58 a.m. (2158 GMT Sunday) after being delayed five days by bad weather. Mitsubishi later said the probe successfully separated from the rocket and was now on its solo journey to Mars. The probe was sending signals that would be analyzed later but everything appeared good for now, Omran Sharaf, the UAE Mars mission director told journalists in Dubai about an hour and a half after liftoff. Amal is set to reach Mars in February 2021, the year the UAE celebrates 50 years since the country s formation. In September that year, Amal will start transmitting Martian atmospheric data, which will be made available to the international scientific community, Sharaf said. ``The UAE is now a member of the club and we will learn more and we will engage more and we ll continue developing our space exploration program, UAE Space Agency chief Mohammed Al Ahbabi told a joint online news conference from Tanegashima. At Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai, Emirati men in their traditional white kandora robes and women in their black abayas watched the liftoff. As its stages separated, a cheer went out from men seated on the floor. They began clapping, one using his face mask, worn due to the coronavirus pandemic, to wipe away a tear. ``It was great to see everything going according to schedule today. It looks like things are all on track. It s a huge step in terms of space exploration to have a nation like the UAE taking that giant leap to send a spacecraft to Mars, said Fred Watson, Australia s astronomer-at-large. ``Being on route to a planet like Mars is an exceptional achievement. A newcomer in space development, the UAE has successfully put three Earth observation satellites into orbit. Two were developed by South Korea and launched by Russia, and a third _ its own _ was launched by Japan. A successful mission to Mars would be a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space, coming less than a year after the launch of the first UAE astronaut, Hazzaa Ali Almansoori. He spent over a week at the International Space Station last fall. The UAE has set a goal to build a human colony on Mars by 2117. ``It sends a very strong message to the Arab youth that if the UAE is able to reach Mars in less than 50 years, they could do much more, Sharaf told The Associated Press on Sunday as his colleagues prepared for the launch. The Emiratis also acknowledged it represented a step forward for the Arab world, the home of mathematicians and scientists for centuries before the wars and chaos that have gripped wide swathes of it in recent times. ``So the region has been going through tough times in the past decades, if not centuries, Sharaf said. ``Now we have the case of the UAE, a country that s moving forward with its plans, looking at the future and the future of region also. For its first Mars mission, the UAE chose partners instead of doing it all on its own. ``Developing a spacecraft is not easy even if there is ample funding, said Junya Terazono, an astronomer at Aizu University. Emirati scientists worked with researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley, and Arizona State University. The spacecraft was assembled at Boulder and transported to Japan as the two countries looked to expand their ties with the rich and politically stable Middle Eastern nation. The Amal spacecraft, along with its launch, cost $200 million, according to Sharaf. Operation costs at Mars have yet to be divulged. Amal, about the size of a small car, carries three instruments to study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change while circling the red planet for at least two years. It is set to follow up on NASA s Maven orbiter sent to Mars in 2014 to study how the planet went from a warm, wet world that may have harbored microbial life during its first billion years, to the cold, barren place of today. Hope also plans to send back images of weather changes. Japan has long collaborated with the U.S. and other partners in defense and space technology, and the resource-poor country has traditionally kept friendly ties with Middle Eastern countries. Japan s launch services are known for accuracy and an on-time record, but the providers are working to cut costs to be more internationally competitive. Two other Mars missions are planned in coming days. China aims to explore the Martian surface with an orbiter and rover and to search for water and ice with a launch expected around Thursday. The U.S. plans to send a rover named Perseverance to search for signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for return to Earth. Liftoff is targeted for July 30. Japan has its own Mars mission planned in 2024. It plans to send spacecraft to the Martian moon Phobos to collect samples to bring back to Earth in 2029.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hands-off approach to the coronavirus crisis in recent days even as COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to record highs in a huge slice of the country, including areas where he has enjoyed strong support. Meanwhile, governors and big city mayors in much of the United States are sending a blunt message to their constituents: Don t expect a federal cavalry to save the day. Throughout the crisis, the president has been quick to convey certitude, with threats to state and local officials who did not heed his warnings. But as the pandemic has continued to ravage the nation, his actions have largely been muted. Large districts in Los Angeles, Houston and suburban Washington are among those to defy Trump s demand that schools fully reopen this fall. They announced this past week that the escalating virus cases will cause them to delay opening their buildings for in-person learning. Others districts, including New York City and Chicago, have laid out initial plans for a combination of in-person and online learning. At the same time, governors and mayors have largely stopped pleading for more federal government help. Instead, they are making it clear that it will be on the shoulders of communities to stem the accelerating spread of the virus. “Our future truly lies in our own hands,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine told Ohioans this past week. The caution coming from many statehouses and city halls contrasts with the upbeat outlook from Trump. He has limited his comments on the virus recently and shifted his attention to his administration s efforts to revive the economy and attack the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. But with Trump s public approval ratings sinking over his handling of the crisis less than four months before Election Day, administration officials say the president may need to pivot to a more aggressive approach. Kellyanne Conway, a White House senior adviser, noted that polls early in the crisis showed that a majority of Americans approved of his handling of the outbreak. This was when Trump was holding near daily briefings. “I just think the people want to hear from the president of the United States,” Conway said. “It doesn t have to be daily. It doesn t have to be for two hours. But in my view, it has to be.” In the meantime, the crisis continues to worsen. On Thursday, the U.S. reported more than 70,000 new COVID-19 cases, a single day record. The Florida Department of Health reported 156 new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, the most yet in a 24-hour period. It was one of 10 states to reach a record for deaths in a single day this past week, joining Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. On Thursday, Trump made a brief detour during an event to spotlight his administration s deregulation record to praise himself for his handling of the pandemic. “No administration in history has removed more red tape more quickly to rescue the economy and to protect the health of our people,” Trump said. A day earlier during a visit to a UPS facility in Georgia, a hot spot where confirmed cases have surged, he only mentioned the virus in passing. He instead rehashed old attacks on China. This hands-off approach to the virus contrasts with his words and actions against what he s described derisively as the “left-wing mob,” protesters who have taken to the streets around the country to decry racial injustice following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump deployed militarized federal agents to Portland, Oregon, angering city and state officials when the agents detained people far from the federal property they were sent to protect. Portland s mayor demanded Friday that Trump remove them. Despite Trump s optimistic outlook on the pandemic, some top public health experts on the White House coronavirus task force, most notably infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, are raising red flags. Fauci has warned that the United States could soon see 100,000 infections per day. “We haven t even begun to see the end of it yet,” Fauci said during a talk hosted by Stanford University s School of Medicine. But at this point, elected officials are looking past the White House and confronting the shifting crisis on their own terms. The talk at the local level, particularly in Democratic-run cities, seems disconnected from Trump s assurances that a vaccine will be developed at “warp speed” and that the economy is already “getting back” to where it was before the pandemic. A former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, said the dynamic has led to a series of state-based strategies to head off the virus. “In some respects, it has allowed states to tailor solutions to their individual challenges and their individual resources,” Gottlieb said. “And in other states it would be preferable to have a more coordinated national approach, particularly when it comes, for example, to testing, where we don t really have a surge capacity that we can move around this country to try to get testing into the hot spots.” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat and co-chair of Biden s campaign, laid blame squarely on Trump. “None of us can look at the map of the country right now and have confidence that this administration has done what they need to do to keep us safe,” she said. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, wrote in The Washington Post that the White House failed to issue public warnings, draw up a 50-state strategy or effectively deliver medical gear or lifesaving ventilators from the national stockpile to American hospitals. “It was hopeless, waiting around for him,” wrote Hogan, retelling his frustration with Trump that led him, with the help of his South Korean-born wife, to acquire 500,000 virus test kits from the South Korean government early in the crisis. “Governors were being told that we were on our own. It was sink or swim.” Back in April, weeks into a lockdown of the economy, Trump feuded with governors over whether the president or state leaders had the authority over reopening the economy. With Trump ceding that debate, states have settled into a scattershot approach. Even as Trump pushes for schools to reopen, state leaders have largely ignored his rhetoric, noting that the president s ability to pressure states to do as he says is limited by the reality that states and municipalities largely control the funding and operations of schools. Early on, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, sought to develop a working relationship with the administration, even traveling to the White House in May to meet with the president. But as the crisis has worn on, Polis has expressed frustration with the lack of a national strategy. “We need a coordinated national response to the coronavirus that we currently lack, but that s not something that I, as your governor, can deliver,” Polis said. “We have to live with the president and administration we have rather than the administration that we may want.”

The White House national security adviser says the U.S. is ``very sympathetic to France in its dispute with Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea between the two NATO allies. The festering row has exposed NATO s struggle to keep order among its ranks, and its diminished U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump. ``NATO allies shouldn t be turning fire control radars on each other. That s not good, national security adviser Robert O Brien told reporters in Paris on Wednesday. He said Trump is available to help defuse tensions, thanks to his personal relationships with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to French accounts of the June 10 incident, the frigate Courbet was illuminated by the targeting radar of a Turkish warship that was escorting a cargo ship. France said it was acting on intelligence from NATO that the civilian ship could be involved in trafficking arms to Libya. The Courbet was part of the alliance s operation Sea Guardian, which helps provide maritime security in the Mediterranean. Turkey s foreign minister accused France of lying, and Turkey s ambassador to France said the French navy was harassing the Turkish convoy. ``We are very sympathetic to the French concerns, O Brien said, while acknowledging differing accounts of what happened. ``We re taking it very seriously. Macron has also accused Turkey of flouting its commitments by ramping up its military presence in Libya and bringing in jihadi fighters from Syria. The United States is by far the most influential of the NATO allies, but has played a less prominent role under Trump, who has publicly berated European members and Canada for not spending enough on defense budgets. Trump has threatened to take U.S. troops out of Germany without consulting allies, and has pulled out of multiple international agreements that Europeans regard as important to their security.

Dozens of people were arrested at a protest in Moscow on Wednesday against constitutional reforms that give President Vladimir Putin the option to remain in power for another 16 years, witnesses and a monitoring group said. About 500 demonstrators, many of whom wore face masks branded with the word "no", chanted calls for Putin to resign and held up banners against the reforms. Police surrounded them and began making arrests late in the evening after participants started a march down one of the city s main boulevards, with officers in riot gear forcefully rounding up protesters and placing them in vans. Over a hundred people were detained, according to the rights monitoring group OVD-info. There was no immediate confirmation from police or the government on numbers of arrests. A vote earlier this month amended Russia s constitution, handing Putin the right to run for two more presidential terms, an outcome the Kremlin described as a triumph. Opposition activists say the vote was illegitimate and that it is time for Putin, who has ruled Russia for over two decades as president or prime minister, to step down. "I came here to sign the petition against the constitutional reforms because I am a nationalist," said one 40-year old man in a black t-shirt as protesters chanted "Putin is a thief". Fourteen-year old Vasilisa said she also signed the petition because Putin "is to blame for the poverty in our country". "Gay people are killed here, women are beaten up here, and no one is ever held accountable," she said. Two Russian activists involved in the campaign against the constitutional reforms were detained last week and the homes of five others were searched, ahead of the scheduled protest, which had not been sanctioned by authorities. Mass gatherings are banned in the capital because of COVID-19 restrictions. Even in normal times, protests of more than one person require the authorities advance consent.

Libya s parliament has passed a motion authorising Egypt to intervene militarily if needed to safeguard the "national security" of both countries in light of what it termed a Turkish "occupation". The legislature backs military commander Khalifa Haftar, who fought a year-long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to seize the western capital Tripoli from a United Nations-recognised unity government. Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, while the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has the backing of their regional rivals Turkey and Qatar. In a resolution passed late Monday, the legislature in the eastern city of Tobruk authorised "Egyptian armed forces to intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they see an imminent danger to both our countries". Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi warned last month that Egypt could send troops into Libya, after the unity government pushed back Haftar s forces from around Tripoli following months of stalemate. El-Sisi explained that any intervention in Libya by Egyptian forces "would be led by the Libyan tribes," and stressed that "we only aspire for stability in Libya." He emphasised that Egypt has no ambitions in Libya, and only wishes to restore security and stability in the country. "We will not be invaders… we only want a stable, safe and developed Libya", he said. Libya has seen years of violence since the ouster of long-time leader Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed 2011 uprising, with the GNA and the parliament in the east, elected in 2014, vying for power. Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital, but the GNA took advantage of Turkish military support including drones to re-impose its control over Libya s northwest. In its statement late Monday evening, the parliament said Libya and Egypt should work together "to guarantee the occupier s defeat and preserve our shared national security" in the face of "the dangers posed by the Turkish occupation".

Turkey s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) refuses a ceasefire unless the Libyan National Army s (LNA) leader Khalifa Haftar decided to withdraw his troops from central and western regions. Speaking to the Financial Times on Sunday, Cavusoglu said the GNA had the "determination" to resume its attacks on the LNA in case the latter did not retreat from the port city of Sirte and Al-Jufra, which has Libya s largest air base. Cavusoglu noted that Russia offered a ceasefire deal during talks in Istanbul last month with a “concrete date and time.” But, after consultations with the GNA, the Tripoli-based government said it has preconditions on Sirte and Al-Jufra and wants Haftar to “return to the lines” his troops held five years ago. In its report about the interview, the Financial Times stated that Cavusoglu hinted that his country may support any GNA offensive, describing its preconditions as "legitimate and reasonable". “Now it depends on the other side, they should accept these preconditions for a lasting ceasefire,” Cavusoglu stated. Last month, Egypt that is backing the LNA Commander Haftar said it has the legitimacy to intervene in Libya to protect the country s national security with the support of local tribes, stressing that Sirte and Al-Jufra are "red line" for Egyptian national security. Turkey s top diplomat went further by saying that Turkey will respond to the recent air strikes on Al-Watiya air base. He said Turkey had "trainers and technical staff" at the base, though claiming that "none were harmed." Sources told Al-Arabiya last Monday that Turkish intelligence officials were wounded during Sunday s air strikes on Al-Watiya air base, which was recently captured by the GNA and its Turkish backers. The wounded were transferred to hospitals in Tripoli and Turkey. Brigadier-General Khaled Al-Mahgoub, a leading LNA commander, told Al-Arabiya that repeat strikes on western Libya s Al-Watiya air base will take place soon. Al-Mahgoub also said that Turkish radars, military equipment and air defence systems were destroyed during the air strikes. Turkey, according to sources who spoke to Reuters in June, is negotiating the establishment of two bases — including one at Al-Watiya — with the GNA. During past weeks, local and foreign media outlets reported that Turkey is preparing to attack Al-Al-Jufra. Tripoli-based GNA is backed by Turkish troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries in its war against the LNA. Head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel-Rahman told Sky News Arabia on Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even began transferring non-Syrian mercenaries, in addition to Syrian ones, to Libya despite international condemnations and warnings. Abdel-Rahman revealed that those mercenaries were located in areas under “Turkish occupation” in Syria. Turkey informed its mercenaries that their next battle will be in Sirte, said Abdel-Rahman, adding that they are transferred to Libya by air. Turkish warships transferred other groups of mercenaries to Libya, revealed Abdel-Rahman. According to Sky News Arabia s same report, Syrian mercenaries in Libya have reached 16,000. About 5,600 of them returned to Syria. LNA spokesperson said during an interview with Sky News Arabia last Wednesday that he expects a "Turkish attack at any time." Ahmed Al-Mesmari stated that the LNA "will do everything needed to deter any aggression." "We have evidence that Turkey is moving towards a decisive battle, which is the Sirte-Jufra battle. There are no indicators on the other side that [Turkey] will accept a ceasefire and go into negotiations," Al-Mesmari asserted. The leading LNA figure noted that the Libyan army is only conducting "defensive operations to prevent manoeuvres and advancement by the enemy towards our (LNA) positions." Al-Mesmari explained that the LNA will declare a ceasefire in case other parties to the conflict show commitment to peace, stop sending terrorists to Libya and end the presence of “invaders," referring to Turkey. He emphasised that the LNA wants a peaceful settlement to the conflict. The same position was shared by the Emirati state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, on Monday. “The UAE, in cooperation with its partners, calls for the return of oil production as soon as possible in Libya and stresses that the presence of guarantees that prevent the prolonging and fuelling of the conflict is important. We will continue the political and diplomatic work. The priority goes to a ceasefire and a return to the political process,” tweeted Gargash.

Hundreds of people joined a second day of protest on Sunday in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk over the arrest of a popular governor accused of ordering the murders of several businessmen. Sergei Furgal, 50, was detained Thursday and has been ordered to remain in pre-trial custody for two months over the crimes 15 years ago. The move triggered a mass demonstration on Saturday in Khabarovsk that was joined by between 10,000 and 40,000 people, according to various estimates. On Sunday, several hundred people marched through the city centre to the local government headquarters, according to the TASS news agency. Local supporters of leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny put the turnout at around 2,000. Furgal won the race for Khabarovsk governor by a landslide in 2018, dealing an upset to President Vladimir Putin s United Russia party. The arrest of the former doctor came just days after Putin -- who has been in power for two decades -- won a landslide ballot on constitutional reforms that could allow him to extend his rule until 2036. Furgal, leader of the Kremlin-friendly LDPR opposition party, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Saturday s demonstrations -- which saw protesters chanting anti-Putin slogans -- were unprecedented for almost any Russian city outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The local government on Sunday denounced the "provocative slogans" and urged people to show "common sense", noting that all gatherings were banned under coronavirus restrictions.

The Libyan National Army s (LNA) spokesperson said during an interview with Sky News Arabia on Wednesday that he expects a "Turkish attack at any time." Ahmed Al-Mesmari stated that the LNA "will do everything needed to deter any aggression." "We have evidence that Turkey is moving towards a decisive battle, which is the Sirte-Al-Jafra battle. There are no indicators on the other side that [Turkey] will accept a ceasefire and go into negotiations," Al-Mesmari asserted. The leading LNA figure noted that the Libyan army is only conducting "defensive operations to prevent manoeuvres and advancement by the enemy towards our (LNA) positions." He emphasised that the LNA wants a peaceful settlement to the conflict. Al-Mesmari explained that the LNA will declare a ceasefire in case other parties to the conflict show commitment to peace, stop sending terrorists to Libya and end the presence of “invaders," referring to Turkey. Concerning Wednesday s UN Security Council meeting on Libya, Al-Mesmari said attending delegations and UN chief Antonio Guterres should have referred to the "obvious Turkish role" in the conflict and support for militias. “[It is] as if they don t want to make an escalation against Turkey. Turkish objectives do not serve international peace and Libyan interests. Turkey is challenging the will of the international community and the Libyans," said Al-Mesmari. The Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli, is backed by Turkish troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries in its war against the eastern-based LNA and its leader General Khalifa Haftar. During the past week, local and foreign media outlets reported that Turkey is preparing to attack Al-Jafra. Sources told Al-Arabiya Monday that Turkish intelligence officials were wounded during Sunday s LNA s air strikes on Al-Watiya Airbase, which was recently captured by the GNA and its Turkish backers. The wounded were transferred to hospitals in Tripoli and Turkey. Brigadier-General Khaled Al-Mahgoub, a leading LNA commander, told Al-Arabiya that repeat strikes on Al-Watiya — western Libya s most significant airbase — will take place soon. Al-Mahgoub also said that Turkish radars, military equipment and air defence systems were destroyed during the air strikes. Turkey, according to sources who spoke to Reuters in June, is negotiating the establishment of two bases — including one at Al-Watiya — with the GNA.

Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended authorization for cross-border humanitarian aid in Syria for a year, though Moscow swiftly proposed a more limited extension. Germany and Belgium, two of the council s non-permanent members, had drafted the resolution, which would have allowed aid to continue to pass through two points on the Turkish border without interference from Damascus. Beyond Russia and China, the other 13 council members voted to approve the draft, the diplomats said. During negotiations, Moscow had asked that the extension be limited to six months, rather than a year, and that it only be allowed at one border crossing, not two, they said. "The draft resolution has not been adopted," Germany s UN ambassador Christoph Heusgen, the acting president of the body in July, confirmed in a letter to Council members. Immediately after the vote, Russia proposed its own draft resolution. Obtained by AFP, it repeats the call for a six-month extension, underlines the improvement in the delivery of humanitarian aid under the control of the Syrian regime, and excludes one of the two entry points into Syria -- Bab al-Salam -- from the mechanism. The results of a vote on that resolution will be known on Wednesday. Authorization for cross-border humanitarian aid has existed since 2014, with periodic extensions. The latest extension expires on Friday. Tuesday s vote was the 15th time that Russia has used its veto since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, and the ninth for China. They argue that the UN authorization violates Syria s sovereignty, and that aid can increasingly be channelled through Syrian authorities. Western nations and the UN secretariat however insist that cross-border aid is the only credible option, and that relief supplies would face multiple obstacles if they had to pass through Damascus control. The veto was an "extremely negative development," one European diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "They want to strangle the population even more," the diplomat said, adding that aid "cannot reach the population from one" crossing point. "Insisting on only one crossing point is cynical and it doesn t meet the needs of the people," the source said. The Bab al-Hawa crossing point allows for shipments of humanitarian aid to the three to four million people living in the opposition-held Idlib region. The International Rescue Committee quickly condemned the veto. "Blocking access to food, health care supplies, vaccines, and ventilators is unacceptable anytime but in the year of COVID-19, it is even more reprehensible," said IRC president David Miliband in a statement. - People are suffering - After the vote, China explained that it too was in favor of maintaining the cross-border authorization. Its veto is due to the refusal of Germany and Belgium to take into account its request for a statement condemning the unilateral US sanctions imposed on Syria, Chinese diplomats said. In January, Moscow, Syria s closest ally, succeeded in having the crossing points reduced from four to two and in limiting the authorization to six months instead of a year, as had been done previously. In a report in late June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a one-year extension of the use of the two crossing points. Guterres said that since 2014, 4,774 trucks have used the Bab al-Salam crossing and 28,574 have used Bab al-Hawa. According to a report published by the UN in Geneva on Tuesday, the humanitarian situation in Idlib province is disastrous. "Syria s economy is devastated," said Hanny Megally, one of the authors of the report. "The country has been in a nine-year conflict. People are suffering."

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he had undergone another test for the novel coronavirus, after local media reported he had symptoms associated with the COVID-19 respiratory disease, including a fever. Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace that he had just visited the hospital and been tested for the virus, adding that an exam had shown his lungs "clean." CNN Brasil and newspaper Estado de S.Paulo reported that he had symptoms of the disease, such as a fever. The president s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down the impact of the virus, even as Brazil has suffered one of the world s worst outbreaks, with more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and 65,000 related deaths, according to official data on Monday. The right-wing populist has often defied local guidelines to wear a mask in public, even after a judge ordered him to do so in late June. Over the weekend, Bolsonaro attended multiple events and was in close contact with the U.S. ambassador to Brazil during July 4 celebrations. The U.S. embassy in Brasilia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro previously tested negative for the coronavirus after several aides were diagnosed following a visit to U.S. President Donald Trump s Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in March.

Israeli aircraft attacked Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night, a Palestinian security source told AFP after Israel reported three rockets fired at its territory. The Israeli occupation army said that its aircraft attacked "underground infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terror organisation" in response to the rocket fire. "Earlier tonight, three rockets were fired from the Gaza strip at Israel," it said in an English-language statement. "In response... attack helicopters and fighter jets targeted Hamas terror targets." There were no immediate reports of casualties from either side. An earlier army statement gave no indication of where the first two rockets fell, but Israeli media said they hit open ground. The Israeli occupation army said that the Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted a third rocket. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches from the Hamas-run strip. The Islamist organisation warned Israel in late June that its planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank amounted to a "declaration of war". Two rockets were fired the next day at the Jewish state from Gaza, triggering a punitive Israeli air raid on Hamas installations in the Palestinian enclave. On July 1, Hamas fired a volley of rockets into the sea as a warning to Israel not to go ahead with annexation, sources in the Islamist organisation told AFP. Israel s proposal to annex its settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley forms part of a broader US peace plan released in January. The proposals foresee the ultimate creation of a Palestinian state on the remaining West Bank territory and the Gaza Strip. But the plan falls far short of Palestinian aspirations, with a state on reduced territory and without east Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars, with the latest conflict in 2014 killing 2,251 Palestinians and 74 people on the Israeli side.

Italy on Sunday authorised charity vessel Ocean Viking to transfer 180 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to a ship in Sicily for quarantine, the ship s operator and the government said. "We have received instructions from the Italian maritime authorities to disembark those on board in Porto Empedocle," a spokesman for the charity SOS Mediterranee told AFP, which has a correspondent on board. The Ocean Viking is now heading for the port where the migrants will be transferred to government-chartered ship the Moby Zaza for 14 days of quarantine. "I can confirm that they re authorised to move to the Moby Zaza, likely tomorrow morning," Interior Ministry spokesman Dino Martirano told AFP. They have been on the Ocean Viking for over a week, with fights and suicide attempts on board prompting the charity to declare a state of emergency on Friday. The Ocean Viking, which has been in limbo in the Mediterranean south of Sicily, has been waiting for permission from Italy or Malta to offload the migrants at a safe port. Tensions have risen in the past week, as witnessed by an AFP reporter, with the migrants increasingly desperate to reach land. Others have become distraught at not being able to telephone their families to let them know they were safe. A member of the crew, Ludovic, told AFP he had never witnessed such violence on board a rescue vessel, after a spate of fights between migrants and threats of suicide. The migrants, who include Pakistanis, North Africans, Eritreans, Nigerians and others, were picked up after fleeing Libya in four separate rescues by the Ocean Viking on June 25 and 30. The migrants include 25 children, most of whom are unaccompanied by adults, and two women, one of whom is pregnant. At times, all the members of the SOS Mediterranee rescue team have been on deck in order to calm tense situations. Some of the threats were directed at the rescuers themselves. Rumours abounded among the groups of migrants, including that the NGO is in cahoots with Italian authorities, earning money each day the migrants are kept on board. On Thursday, two migrants threw themselves into the Mediterranean, but were rescued. More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year with more than 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the International Organization for Migration. The arrival of summer and more favourable conditions at sea may lead to an increase of attempts to cross the Mediterranean with the hope of arriving in Europe.

The Saudi-led military coalition Thursday confirmed it has launched a major operation against Yemen s Houthis and warned it would target the rebel leadership following missile and drone attacks on the kingdom. Residents of rebel-held capital Sanaa told AFP they heard loud explosions and saw plumes of smoke Wednesday after at least a dozen air strikes on the international airport, which is close to an air force base. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said on their Al-Masirah television that the coalition had launched 57 air strikes on Sanaa and their northern stronghold of Saada. There were no official reports of casualties, but the rebels said a woman and a girl were killed in Saada while a number of children were wounded. "The operation came in response to the threat of the Houthi militia after they launched ballistic missiles as well as drones from the occupied capital Sanaa, as well as Saada," coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki told reporters in Riyadh. "The terrorist leaders of the Houthi militia... will be pursued and held accountable. Targeting civilians and civilian facilities is a red line." The coalition strike effectively ends a unilateral ceasefire it declared in April, announced as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed drones and ballistic missiles launched into the kingdom by the Houthis, including one fired towards Riyadh. At the venue of Maliki s press conference, Saudi officials displayed remnants of intercepted missiles and drones they said were supplied by Iran to Yemen s Houthi rebels. Iran denies arming the rebels. Yemen has been locked in conflict since the Houthis took control of Sanaa in 2014 and went on to seize much of the north. The crisis escalated when the Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to support Yemen s internationally-recognised government. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in what the United Nations has called the world s worst humanitarian disaster. The Arab world s poorest country, already devastated by conflict and malnutrition, Yemen also faces the coronavirus pandemic that its decrepit health system is ill-equipped to handle.

When it comes to Russia, the Trump administration just can t seem to make up its mind. For the past three years, the administration has careered between President Donald Trump s attempts to curry favor and friendship with Vladimir Putin and longstanding deep-seated concerns about Putin s intentions. As Trump has repeatedly and openly cozied up to Putin, his administration has imposed harsh and meaningful sanctions and penalties on Russia. The dizzying, often contradictory, paths followed by Trump on the one hand and his hawkish but constantly changing cast of national security aides on the other have created confusion in Congress and among allies and enemies alike. To an observer, Russia is at once a mortal enemy and a misunderstood friend in U.S. eyes. Even before Trump took office questions about Russia abounded. Now, nearing the end of his first term with a difficult reelection ahead, those questions have resurfaced with a vengeance. Intelligence suggesting Russia was encouraging attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan by putting bounties on their heads has thrust the matter into the heart of the 2020 campaign. The White House says the intelligence wasn t confirmed or brought to Trump s attention, but his vast chorus of critics are skeptical and maintain the president should have been aware. The reports have alarmed even pro-Trump Republicans who see Russia as a hostile global foe meddling with nefarious intent in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Ukraine and Georgia, a waning former superpower trying to regain its Soviet-era influence by subverting democracy in Europe and the United States with disinformation and election interference. Trump s overtures to Putin have unsettled longstanding U.S. allies in Europe, including Britain, France and Germany, which have expressed concern about the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance, which was forged to counter the Soviet threat, and robust democracy on the continent. But Trump has defended his perspective on Russia, viewing it as a misunderstood potential friend, a valued World War II ally led by a wily, benevolent authoritarian who actually may share American values, like the importance of patriotism, family and religion. Trump s approach to Russia was at center stage in the impeachment proceedings, when U.S. officials testified that the president demanded political favors from Ukraine in return for military assistance it needed to combat Russian aggression. But the issue ended up as a largely partisan exercise, with House Democrats voting to impeach Trump and Senate Republicans voting to acquit. Within the Trump administration, the national security establishment appears torn between pursuing an arguably tough approach to Russia and pleasing the president. Insiders who have raised concern about Trump s approach to Russia _ including at least one of his national security advisers, defense secretaries and secretaries of state, but especially lower-level officials who spoke out during impeachment _ have nearly all been ousted from their positions. Suspicions about Trump and Russia go back to his 2016 campaign. His appeal to Moscow to dig up his opponent s emails, his plaintive suggestions that Russia and the United States should be friends and a series of contacts between his advisers and Russians raised questions of impropriety that led to special counsel Robert Mueller s investigation. The investigation ultimately did not allege that anyone associated with the campaign illegally conspired with Russia. Mueller, along with the U.S. intelligence community, did find that Russia interfered with the election, to sow chaos and also help Trump s campaign. But Trump has cast doubt on those findings, most memorably in a 2018 appearance on stage with Putin in Helsinki. Yet despite Trump s rhetoric, his administration has plowed ahead with some of the most significant actions against Russia by any recent administration. Dozens of Russian diplomats have been expelled, diplomatic missions closed, arms control treaties the Russians sought to preserve have been abandoned, weapons have been sold to Ukraine despite the impeachment allegations and the administration is engaged in a furious battle to prevent Russia from constructing a new gas pipeline that U.S. lawmakers from both parties believe will increase Europe s already unhealthy dependence on Russian energy. At the same time, Trump has compounded the uncertainty by calling for the withdrawal or redeployment of U.S. troops from Germany, angrily deriding NATO allies for not meeting alliance defense spending commitments, and now apparently ignoring dire intelligence warnings that Russia was paying or wanted to pay elements of the Taliban to kill American forces in Afghanistan. On top of that, even after the intelligence reports on the Afghanistan bounties circulated, he s expressed interest in inviting Putin back into the G-7 group of nations over the objections of the other members. White House officials and die-hard Trump supporters have shrugged off the obvious inconsistencies, but they have been unable to staunch the swell of criticism and pointed demands for explanations as Russia, which has vexed American leaders for decades, delights in its ability to create chaos.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to carry out his pledge to begin annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, possibly as soon as Wednesday. His vision of redrawing the map of the Holy Land, in line with President Donald Trump s Mideast plan, has been welcomed by Israel s religious and nationalist right wing and condemned by the Palestinians and the international community. But with opponents offering little more than condemnations, there seems little to prevent Netanyahu from embarking on a plan that could permanently alter the Mideast landscape. Here s a closer look at annexation: WHY ANNEXATION, AND WHY NOW? Israel s right wing has long favored annexing parts or all of the West Bank, saying the territory is vital for the country s security and an inseparable part of the biblical Land of Israel. But most of the world considers the West Bank, captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, to be occupied territory, and Israel s dozens of settlements, now home to nearly 500,000 Jewish Israelis, as illegal. Surrounded by a team of settler allies, Trump has upended U.S. policy, recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel s capital, moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights and announcing that Jewish settlements are not illegal. Seeking to court hard-line voters on the campaign trail, Netanyahu last year began talking about annexation. After Trump released his Mideast plan in January envisioning permanent Israeli control over 30% of the West Bank, including all of Israel s settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley region, Netanyahu quickly jumped on board. Israel and the U.S. have formed a joint committee to map out precisely which areas Israel can keep. Netanyahu made sure that under the coalition agreement, he can bring a proposal to the new government anytime after July 1. He appears eager to move forward before the November presidential election, possibly with a limited move billed as a first stage, especially with Trump s re-election prospects in question. WHY IS THERE SO MUCH OPPOSITION? The Palestinians seek the entire West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state and believe the Trump plan would deliver a fatal blow to their fading hopes of statehood. Among the plan s components: The Palestinians would only have limited autonomy in a fraction of territory they seek. Isolated Israeli settlements deep inside Palestinian territory would remain intact, and the Israeli military would retain overall security control over the Palestinian entity. The international community has invested billions of dollars in promoting a two-state solution since the interim Oslo peace accords of the 1990s. The U.N. secretary general, the European Union and leading Arab countries have all said that Israeli annexation would violate international law and greatly undermine the prospects for Palestinian independence. WILL ANYTHING CHANGE ON THE GROUND? Not immediately. Israel has controlled the entire West Bank for more than 50 years. Palestinians will remain in their towns and villages, while Israelis will live in their newly annexed settlements. The Palestinian Authority is protesting annexation but has ruled out any kind of violent response. But over time, there is a larger risk of conflict. Netanyahu has said he opposes granting citizenship to Palestinians living on annexed lands, presumably because it would undercut Israel s Jewish majority. But failing to grant equal rights to Palestinians in annexed areas opens Israel up to charges of establishing an apartheid system that would draw heavy international condemnation. Palestinians who are not living on annexed lands could face other challenges. Moving between Palestinian population centers _ or even reaching their own properties and farmlands _ could become difficult if they have to cross through Israeli territory. Critics say that Israel could also use its sovereignty to expropriate Palestinian lands. The Palestinian Authority has already cut off its ties with Israel to protest the looming annexation. In the absence of any peace prospects, the Palestinian Authority could see its international funding dry up or decide to close. The collapse of the authority could force Israel, as an occupying power, to pick up the tab for governing the Palestinians. In the long term, it could lead to Palestinian and international calls to establish a single binational state with voting rights for all _ a scenario that could spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state. WHY DOESN T THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY STOP THIS? U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said annexation would mark a ``most serious violation of international law. The EU s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned of ``significant consequences. Jordan and Egypt, the only Arab states at peace with Israel, have condemned the annexation plan. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, powerful Arab players with informal relations with Israel, have said warming ties will be in danger. But Israel and the U.S. appear to be banking on the international community s poor record of translating rhetoric into concrete action. Days after the UAE warned Israel against annexation, for instance, two Emirati companies reached cooperation deals with Israeli partners in the fight against the coronavirus. Thanks to the U.S. veto over U.N. Security Council decisions, international sanctions appear to be out of the question. Divisions within the EU make concerted European reaction unlikely as well. Individual countries might seek to impose limited sanctions against Israel, and the International Criminal Court in the Hague could take annexation into account as it weighs whether to launch a war crimes investigation into Israeli policies. CAN ANYTHING STOP ANNEXATION? The biggest obstacle to Netanyahu appears to be from within. U.S. officials say they are unlikely to allow Israel to move forward unless Netanyahu and his coalition partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, are in agreement. Gantz, a former military chief and bitter rival of Netanyahu, has said Israel should move carefully and in coordination with regional partners. Gantz laid the groundwork for further delays Monday when he said his top priority is guiding the country through the coronavirus crisis. ``Anything unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will wait, he said. Ironically, some hard-line settler leaders have also opposed the plan, saying they cannot accept any program that envisions a Palestinian state. If the issue remains frozen, time could run out on Netanyahu. The presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, has said he opposes annexation. A Biden victory in November could mean that any Israeli annexation will be short-lived.

Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly said Monday. While Trump faces no danger of arrest, the charges underscore the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said Trump and more than 30 others whom Iran accuses of involvement in the Jan. 3 strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad face ``murder and terrorism charges,`` the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Alqasimehr did not identify anyone else sought other than Trump, but stressed that Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after his presidency ends. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alqasimehr also was quoted as saying that Iran requested a ``red notice be put out for Trump and the others, which represents the highest level arrest request issued by Interpol. Local authorities end up making the arrests on behalf of the country that request it. The notices cannot force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, but can put government leaders on the spot and limit suspects travel. After receiving a request, Interpol meets by committee and discusses whether or not to share the information with its member states. Interpol has no requirement for making any of the notices public, though some do get published on its website. It is unlikely Interpol would grant Iran s request as its guideline for notices forbids it from ``undertaking any intervention or activities of a political`` nature. The U.S. killed Soleimani, who oversaw the Revolutionary Guard s expeditionary Quds Force, and others in the January strike near Baghdad International Airport. It came after months of incidents raising tensions between the two countries and ultimately saw Iran retaliate with a ballistic missile strike targeting American troops in Iraq.

Diplomatic sources from the European Union (EU) told Euronews on Friday that 54 states are on a draft list of those whose nationals will be allowed to pass EU borders after they open. The draft list, which will be reviewed every two weeks, will not include the United States, Brazil, Qatar and Russia, EU sources said. The 54 countries include: Egypt, the Vatican City, Monaco, Montenegro, Andorra, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, the Democratic People s Republic of Korea, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, Bhutan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, India, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Palau, New Zealand, Australia, Dominica, the Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Uruguay, Jamaica, Cuba, Guyana, Paraguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Canada, Angola, Tunisia, Namibia, Uganda, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Morocco and Algeria. The sources pointed out that the EU is having an internal debate over the criteria used for this decision, for some member-states argue that "data about Covid rates is not reliable." They stated that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was contacted to provide more details on this issue. The European travel ban has been in place since 17 March due to coronavirus. The sources also questioned that borders will be reopened by 1 July, as recommended to EU member-states by the European Commission earlier this month.

The spokesperson of the Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Wednesday that Turkey continues to send weapons to the northwestern city of Misrata, east of the capital Tripoli, according to Al-Arabiya news agency. Ahmed Al-Mesmari said that Turkish military cargo aircrafts are transferring weapons to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya. There are also Turkish naval units operating near Libya s western coastal areas, he stated. "Our armed forces had military drills in western Sirte, and the troops are ready to deal with any emergency," Al-Mesmari asserted. "The armed forces men believe that this is the nation s battle to get rid of takfiris and end the Turkish invasion," he explained, adding that "the Turkish presence in Libya does not only threaten the country, but the region as a whole." He also accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of challenging the international community s willingness to reach a ceasefire in the war-torn state. Speaking to Egypt s state news agency MENA on Wednesday, the head of the Libyan parliament Aguila Saleh said that an arms embargo aimed at curbing the fighting in Libya was only implemented on the LNA while armed militias have continued to receive weapons. Saleh added that the international community has failed to stop the arrival of mercenaries and weapons into the Libyan territories. Turkey, which is fighting against the east-based LNA and its commander Khalifa Haftar, is backing the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli with troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries. Ankara, according to Reuters, is conducting talks with the GNA for a possible use of the Misrata naval base and Al-Watiya air base.

The U.N. chief called for more pressure to be applied to Yemen s warring parties to come together to arrange a cease-fire in the war that has cost more than 10,000 lives and displaced 2 million people in the world s worst humanitarian disaster. Yemeni people are ``suffering terribly and COVID-19 is worsening their situation, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. He spoke before a closed briefing to the U.N. Security Council by U.N. special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths on Wednesday afternoon. In 2014, Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen s north, driving the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile. A U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to try and restore Hadi s rule. The war has settled into a stalemate, compelling major regional players to seek an exit. Guterres said the United Nations has been working to bring the parties together and has been promoting ``confidence-building measures, namely in relation to the use of the airport, the harbors, the payment of salaries and at the same time the beginning of a political process. ``I m still confident that that is possible,`` the secretary-general said, ``and we need to put all pressure on the parties to the conflict and all relevant actors in order to make sure that the intense discussions that we have had in this regard lead to a positive outcome. Last month, Griffiths reported ``significant progress in negotiations toward a cease-fire, but warned of stark challenges as coronavirus spreads at an unknown rate across the Arab world s poorest nation. He urged the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis to quickly resolve differences over humanitarian and economic measures needed to move peace efforts forward and help the country counter the virus. Diplomats have stressed that a peace deal in Yemen must reconcile not only the government and the Houthis, but the south and the north as well. Guterres said the Yemenis are a generous people ``that has always had difficulties in finding unity among themselves, but it s a people that deserves this. On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition announced a breakthrough in the south. The coalition said the separatists Southern Transitional Council which is backed by the United Arab Emirates and the country s Saudi-backed internationally recognized government have agreed to a cease-fire after months of infighting. The agreement aims to close the rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against the Houthis. In addition to the ongoing war, Yemen is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis. A U.N. humanitarian appeal for Yemen this month fell $1 billion short of what aid agencies needed. Some 75% of U.N. programs for the country, covering essentially every sector, from food to health care and nutrition, have shut their doors or reduced operations. The World Food Program had to cut rations in half and U.N.-funded health services were reduced in nearly 200 hospitals nationwide. *This story was edited by Ahram Online.

The Arab League stressed on Monday the importance of a comprehensive political solution in Libya, while noting its strong opposition to foreign interventions in the conflict-hit state. In a final resolution that was issued following an online meeting of Arab foreign ministers, the Arab League emphasised the “need for restoring the Libyan nation state and its institutions’ role in serving the Libyan people, far from foreign interventions.” The resolution also includes the Arab League’s backing of the 2017 Skhirat agreement, the Berlin conference and the “outcomes of the different regional and international paths.” The document also referred to the “central role of the neighbouring countries to Libya in ending the Libyan crisis,” opposing and seeing a necessity in “stopping foreign interventions—regardless of their source and nature—that facilitate the transfer of terrorist, foreign fighters into Libya, as well as the violation of international decisions about an arms embargo,” as weapons “present a threat to the region and Libya’s neighbouring countries.” The Arab League welcomed a recent Egyptian resolution initiative, as well as all peace-seeking international efforts, expressing complete support for the United Nations’ endeavours to solve the conflict. The resolution also called on for an immediate ceasefire, to be implemented in light of the 5+5 talks in Geneva. The resolution also condemned all human rights violations in Libya and highlighted the importance of protecting all foreigners in the North African country. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said during the meeting that Cairo has constantly worked, using all diplomatic channels, to achieve a convergence of views among all the Libyan parties. Shoukry, according to ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez, also said that Egypt has been involved in all international initiatives that seek to settle the conflict. He said that Egypt, in cooperating with the UN, is invested in playing a part in making the Berlin political-economic path a successful one, in addition to the 5+5 talks, that will involve military and security arrangements. Egypt also wants Libya to restore its economic wellbeing, reform its institutions under parliamentary supervision, and activate the central bank and oil institutions in the country, within a framework of transparency and equal distribution of resources, Shoukry stated. He said that Egypt has continued to warn about the threat of spreading terrorism in Libya, emphasising that Egypt will not hesitate to take all measures to prevent the fall of Libya and its people in the hands of terrorists. He also warned against foreign interventions in Libya that back militias and transfer terrorists and foreign mercenaries from Syria to Libya, which “threatens Libyan stability and security and Arab national security.” The Arab countries have to work together to end these practices, concluded Shoukry. On Twitter, the Libyan foreign ministry announced it was downgrading its representation at the Arab ministerial meeting, criticising “double standards.” “So far, the [Arab League] session that Libya has called for since April last year has not been held, despite securing the quorum,” the ministry tweeted on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed removing the towering statue of Theodore Roosevelt from outside New York City s American Museum of Natural History. The move was announced by the museum on Sunday and comes amid anti-racism protests across the United States and the world after the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in police custody on May 25 in the United States. The statue shows Roosevelt on a horse, with a Native American man and an African man by his side. It stands prominently on a plinth outside the museum s main entrance, overlooking Central Park. Roosevelt, a Republican like Trump, was U.S. president from 1901-1909. Known for his exuberant and daring manner, he carried out antitrust, conservationist and "Square Deal" reforms, and, critics said, took an interventionist approach to foreign policy, including projecting U.S. naval power around the world. Many critics have said the Roosevelt statue symbolizes racial discrimination and colonial expansion. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that the city was in favor of the request from the museum to remove the statue because it "depicts black and indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior." "Ridiculous, don t do it," Trump said in a tweet on Monday. In the ongoing ant-racism demonstrations, protesters across the United States and around the world have demanded that authorities take down monuments honoring pro-slavery Confederate figures and the architects of Europe s colonies. "Simply put, the time has come to move it," the museum s president, Ellen Futter, told the New York Times. She said the museum s decision was based on the statue itself, along with its "hierarchical composition", and not on Roosevelt. Futter said the museum continues to honor Roosevelt as "a pioneering conservationist". Roosevelt s face is also one of the four presidents - along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln - whose faces are cast in 60-foot-high granite sculptures at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. Trump has blasted the anti-racism protests, saying demonstrators have behaved badly. "The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments - our beautiful monuments - tear down our statues and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control. We re not conforming", the U.S. president told supporters at a rally last week.