Bank of America to offer mortgage relief during coronavirus crisis

USA TODAY
Indiana weighs hospital monopoly as officials elsewhere scrutinize similar deals
As the health care industry consolidates, it’s common for a large system to dominate a market, but patient impacts are drawing scrutiny.
USA TODAY
Massive heat wave heading for USA next week. Cities have been preparing for this.
Some parts of the U.S. are bracing for summer heat with free air conditioning units and ice-filled body bags to treat people with heat sickness.
CNN
Trump walks fine line on abortion, but allies and activists have big plans for a second term
Anti-abortion supporters of Donald Trump are expected to aggressively push for him to deliver on their policy priorities should he return to the White House.
Politico
Rich countries unite against China ... sort of.
Under pressure from the U.S., the G7 is rolling out new initiatives to counter China's economic reach. There's little agreement on how much further to go.
AFP
Hard-right Reform UK outstrips Tories for first time in poll: YouGov
The Conservative party of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fallen behind the hard-right anti-immigration Reform UK party for the first time in a poll by YouGov, which called the development a "seismic shift".Still, it added: "The fact that Nigel Farage's party are neck and neck with the governing Conservatives is a seismic shift in the voting landscape."
AFP
Bank of Japan to scale down huge bond-buying programme
The Bank of Japan on Friday said it would trim its vast hoard of government bonds as it cautiously steps away from its long-running ultra-loose monetary policy.The central bank kept interest rates unchanged after a two-day meeting but announced plans to "reduce its purchase amount of JGBs (Japanese Government Bonds) thereafter to ensure that long-term interest rates would be formed more freely".
CNN
China #MeToo journalist sentenced to five years in prison, supporters say
A leading #MeToo journalist in China has been sentenced to five years in prison on subversion charges, according to supporters, as the ruling Communist Party ramps up its effort to dismantle what remains of the country’s civil society.
AFP
Yen drops and Nikkei rises as BoJ delays tightening; markets mixed
The yen fell and Tokyo stocks rose on Friday after the Bank of Japan deferred a plan to cut back its bond purchases as it cautiously moves away from its ultra-loose monetary policy.The unit has been under continued pressure against the greenback owing to the bank's refusal to move from its ultra-loose policy, even as other central banks hold rates at multi-year highs.
CNN
Himalayan region landslides kills 10, leaves 2,400 tourists stranded in northeastern India
At least 10 people have died in flooding and landslides across Himalayan regions of India and Nepal following heavy rainfall on Thursday, according to local officials. The severe downpours have also left 2,400 tourists stranded in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.
CNN
Trump turns 78, a birthday he wishes ‘doesn’t exist’
In a rare speechless moment Sunday, Donald Trump stepped back from the microphone as his Las Vegas supporters spontaneously broke into a disjointed rendition of the world’s most recognizable song.
Associated Press
Iran installing and starting cascades of advanced centrifuges as tensions high over nuclear program
Iran has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear program, the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Friday. Spinning up new centrifuges further advances Iran's nuclear program, which already enriches uranium at near-weapons-grade levels and boasts a stockpile enough for several nuclear bombs if it chose to pursue them.
Reuters
South Africa governing alliance emerges as new parliament convenes
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) -The African National Congress has agreed to form a government of national unity for South Africa with three other parties including its largest rival, the pro-business Democratic Alliance, public broadcaster SABC reported on Friday. The ANC, which has been in power since the 1994 elections that marked the end of apartheid, lost its majority for the first time in a May 29 vote and two weeks of intensive behind-the-scenes talks with other parties came down to the wire. The SABC report came as the newly elected parliament was convening for the first time and lawmakers were in the process of being sworn in.
Reuters
Greece migrant boat disaster relatives demand answers, one year on
Demonstrators were due to rally in Athens on Friday to mark the anniversary of a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants off Greece and demand answers about the causes of the disaster and the fate of relatives. Up to 700 migrants from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt were crammed in Libya into a fishing trawler bound for Italy. It capsized off southwestern Greece on June 14, 2023, even though the Greek coast guard had been monitoring it for hours.
AFP
France makes 700-mn-euro offer for Atos security units
Debt-laden tech group Atos said Friday the French state has made a 700-million-euro bid for its most sensitive businesses, including cybersecurity and supercomputers used for the country's nuclear deterrent.The company had said in late April that these businesses were valued between 700 million and one billion euros.
CNN
Storm-battered Florida braces for a fourth day of floods after downpours transformed roads into canals and stranded drivers
Heavy rainfall that’s caused unrelenting flooding in South Florida since Tuesday will continue for a fourth consecutive day after turning roads into canals and forcing some residents to stand on the roofs of their cars or trudge through waist-deep waters.
AFP
China promoting authoritarian governance in developing world: report
China has organised seminars and training courses for officials in African and Latin American countries, aimed at promoting its single-party system and President Xi Jinping's worldview, a report said this week.Another training programme, aimed at African officials involved in city planning, focused on China's pervasive surveillance system.
Associated Press
South Africa's Parliament is choosing a president in a vote with unprecedented uncertainty
For the first time in 30 years, South African lawmakers will elect a president on Friday with the outcome not a mere formality. Cyril Ramaphosa is seeking a second term as leader of Africa's most industrialized economy but his African National Congress party has been weakened after losing its long-held majority in an election last month. The ANC is hoping that a general coalition agreement with others — particularly the main opposition Democratic Alliance — will hold and they will back Ramaphosa's reelection.
Reuters
Greek PM reshuffles cabinet after worse than expected EU vote result
ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to reshuffle his cabinet after his centre-right party performed worse than expected in the European Parliament election. The new government's composition will be announced by the government spokesman at 11:30 a.m. (0830 GMT), a statement by the prime minister's office said. Mitsotakis' New Democracy party, which has led Greece since 2019, came first in Sunday's EU election with 28.3% of the vote but missed a 33% target Mitsotakis had set during his pre-election campaign and was well below the 40% his party received in a June 2023 national election.
Associated Press
Canada's defense investment in the Arctic puts it on track to meet NATO guideline, minister says
Canada looks on track to meet NATO’s military spending guideline soon, Defense Minister Bill Blair said Friday, notably by boosting investment in the Arctic near its shared border with Russia as the region warms quickly due to climate change. After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO allies agreed to halt budget cuts and move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. Canada was barely spending 1% at the time.
Reuters
Irish coalition parties on top after marathon European election counts
While that represented a one seat gain for Sinn Fein on the last election in 2019, the party had hoped to do much better in the European and local council elections held on the same day, only to get around half the vote of each of their main rivals. The left wing party was polling as high as 35% in October but its commanding three-year opinion poll lead disappeared ahead of last Friday's elections as more voters came to see immigration as their top concern rather than affordable housing, an issue which Sinn Fein dominated.

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