My Splendid Lifestyle

5-year-old Tony Hudgell of England has raised over US$1.2 million for a London children's hospital by completing a 10km walk on prosthetic legs. Tony had to have both his legs amputated due to abuse by his birth parents when he was just a baby. He now lives with his adoptive parents Mark and Paula in Kent. Tony was inspired to take on this challenge by Captain Sir Tom Moore, the veteran who raised over $37 million for charity by walking laps in his garden in the run-up to his 100th birthday. Tony was said to be "over the moon" that his fundraising was able to raise so much money for the hospital that saved his life. His next challenge is to walk without the aid of crutches.

Thailand’s Education Ministry has intervened to stop government schools from chopping off the hair of students whose locks they find too long or messy. Boys are now allowed hair on the back and sides of their heads that must stop at the base of the neck, while girls can have long hair if it is neat and tidy, but not permed or dyed. The change in rules is a small dent in a highly regimented school system in which uniforms remain mandatory.

Venice tested its long-delayed flood barriers on Friday, in a public demonstration of the strength of the defences months after rising tidal waters swamped its historic canals, squares and palaces. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended the test and started the computerized system that sent all 78 giant gates rising simultaneously above the water for the first time. The multi-billion-euro Mose scheme - designed in 1984 but still incomplete a decade after it was due to come into service - has been plagued by corruption and cost overruns.

US President Donald Trump has worn a mask in public for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking last week, Mr Trump said: "I'm all for masks."  But when the US Centers for Disease Control in April began recommending people wear masks in public to help stop the spread of the virus, Mr Trump told reporters he would not follow the practice. The change of tone came as the US recorded 66,528 coronavirus cases on Saturday, a new daily record.

A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. Firefighters entered the church and tried to beat back the flames, but they had to retreat when roofing and other structural materials began to fall. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The recent toppling of monuments to Junipero Serra, the founder of the California mission system who has long been a symbol of oppression among Indigenous activists, will be a factor in the investigation.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday he expected U.S. President Donald Trump to act firmly against the TikTok and WeChat applications, amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. Fast-growing video-sharing app TikTok belongs to the Chinese group ByteDance and has nearly one billion users worldwide. WeChat, owned by Tencent, is the main messaging application in China with more than one billion users. TikTok has sought to distance itself from its Chinese owners, pointing out it has an American CEO and consistently denying allegations that it shares data with Beijing.

There is little chance of a 100-percent effective coronavirus vaccine by 2021, a French expert has warned, urging people to take social distancing measures more seriously. "A vaccine is several years in development," said epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the team of scientists advising the government on the crisis. "Of course, there is an unprecedented effort to develop a vaccine, but I would be very surprised if we had one that was effective in 2021," he added.

Dozens of artists, writers, and academics have signed an open letter decrying the weakening of public debate and warning that the free exchange of information and ideas is in jeopardy amid a rise in what they call "illiberalism." Critics have pointed out that some of those who signed have engaged in the same toxic behaviour they decry in the letter. Others cited the disconnect over signatories holding such prominence, positions of power and with large public platforms complaining about having their speech stifled. J.K. Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood are among the more than 150 signatories to argue against cancel culture and more in the open letter in Harper's Magazine.

Britain's Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced that UK diners will receive half off on restaurant meals throughout August, as part of a wider package to help ease the burden of the pandemic on the hospitality industry. The "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme attempts to encourage people to spend money in reopened bars and restaurants after the COVID-19 outbreak forced them to shut their doors. While the measures come as welcome news for some, many in the hospitality sector don't see these schemes as going far enough. “Everything Rishi Sunak has done so far is meaningless unless he does something on rents," one restaurant owner was quoted as saying.

The Russian government has recently decided to designate a vast area in Siberia as a nature reserve in order to protect endangered wildlife. The Russian government has set aside 800,000 hectares of land, including the uninhabited Medvezhyi Islands, which are also known as Bear Islands at the western end of the Kolyma Gulf, to protect the habitats of 35 endangered species of plants and animals, including polar bears. The nature reserve, which will be managed directly by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, is 13 times the size of Seoul.

Dr. Michael V. Drake has been chosen as president of the University of California, the first African-American leader in the 280,000-student system's 152-year history. The announcement by the UC Board comes just a week after Drake retired as president at Ohio State University. While there, he put in place a comprehensive tuition freeze for in-state students, the first in decades. The university also broke records for graduation and retention rates, research expenditures, annual fundraising, and diversity among incoming classes.

Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered. This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better. The elevated death toll resulting from Sweden’s approach has been clear for many weeks. What is only now emerging is how Sweden, despite letting its economy run unimpeded, has still suffered catastrophic damage and at nearly the same magnitude of its neighbors.

Scientists in Italy are investigating the mysterious appearance of pink glacial ice in the Alps, caused by algae that accelerate the effects of climate change. Experts are debating on the origin of the algae, but Biagio Di Mauro of Italy’s National Research Council said the pink snow is likely caused by the same plant found in Greenland. Tourists at the glacier have lamented the impact of climate change. “Overheating of the planet is a problem, the last thing we needed was algae,” said tourist Marta Durante. “Unfortunately we are doing irreversible damage. We are already at the point of no return.”

The British Athletes Commission has called for a thorough investigation after being “deeply troubled” by allegations of abuse in British Gymnastics. Catherine Lyons, a former junior and British champion, and Lisa Mason, an Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist, have publicly accused coaches of having bullied and mistreated athletes. “No athlete should be expected to tolerate an abuse of power or poor practice”, read a BAC statement. “The performance environment should be a place of mutual trust and respect where athletes are supported in achieving their best.”

The United States has announced that it will not allow foreign students to stay in the country if the entirety of their classes are moved online for the fall semester. Students who are currently in the U.S. and enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction. The move is expected to impact Korean students who at the moment are studying or plan to study in the U.S., where many classes have gone online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Global Headlines HEADLINE 1 The World Health Organization has started reviewing a report from over 200 scientists, urging it to update its guidance on COVID-19. HEADLINE 2  The U.S. state of Georgia has declared a state of emergency following a series of violent incidents including a fatal shooting of an 8-year-old girl. HEADLINE 3  Torrential rain and floods in Japan’s Kyushu region have left at least 60 people dead or missing. HEADLINE 4 A reporter in Russia has been convicted and fined for writing a commentary critical of the government.

Mystery surrounds the unprecedented deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana over the last two months. Some carcasses were found clustered around waterholes, while others appeared to have died "falling flat on their faces," according to Niall McCann, director of conservation at United Kingdom charity National Park Rescue. Botswana is home to 130,000 African elephants — more than any other country on the continent. The Okavango Delta, where the carcasses were found, is home to around 10% of the country's elephants.

The mayor of a town in Colombia has been praised after he turned his own son in to the police for breaking a curfew imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Carlos Higgins Villanueva said he had to set an example. "My family are the first who have to respect the rules," he tweeted. Mayor Higgins posted pictures of himself driving his son, his nephew, and a man he described as "a great friend" to the police station, where he asked officers "to deal with the rule-breakers as they see fit". The three had been caught on video celebrating Father's Day during the hours of a strict curfew.

China sees its dominance in strategic rare-earth minerals as leverage that can be used against the West—including in trade disputes with the U.S. Rare earths are metals used for a variety of advanced technologies, including computer screens, high-tech weapons and electric vehicles. China cultivated its rare-earth industry through years of state subsidies. Researchers have concluded that China values its rare-earth dominance for geopolitical values over commercial gain, and that China will not rule out using rare earth exports as leverage to deal with the situation.

A Francis Bacon triptych sold for over $84 million during a virtual auction at Sotheby's, on what was an encouraging — and highly unusual — evening for the coronavirus-hit art market. The marathon sale marked the first time that Sotheby's has trialed its "hybrid" auction format, which saw chairman of Sotheby's Europe, Oliver Barker, taking bids from agents around the world via a wall of screens. The biggest sale of the evening came down to a two-horse race, but the evening racked up a total of $363.2 million for Sotheby's , with 93% of the artworks offered eventually selling.