A recent study found that repeating the “F” word during an ice water experiment increased subjects’ tolerance and threshold for pain. However, reciting made-up swear words showed no such pain-reducing effects. The study was published in Frontiers in Psychology.Numerous studies have shown that the use of swear words can strengthen pain tolerance during an ice water experiment. UK researchers Stephens and Robertson set out to explore the mechanism behind this pain-relieving effect in a unique way. A team of specialists invented two new “swear” words with properties similar to known curse words. ...
Are the United States and China heading for a new Cold War? Judging by some of the rhetoric and policies emanating from Beijing and Washington, it sure looks that way.Already tense, relations between the world’s two largest powers have deteriorated sharply since the lethal coronavirus first emerged in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan and then rapidly spread across the globe.In the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has led the charge. Last January, Pompeo called the Chinese Communist Party “the central threat of our times.” And for weeks Pompeo sought to enlist America’s partners a...
Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong led a sell-off across Asian equities Friday after China introduced proposals to enact a national security law for the city, fanning geopolitical tensions and overshadowing optimism about a further easing of virus lockdowns across Europe and the US.After months of concentrating on the economic impact of the coronavirus, traders' attention flipped back to China-US tensions, already exacerbated by Donald Trump's constant criticism of Beijing's handling of the pandemic.On the first day of its rubber-stamp parliament, China submitted proposals to strengthen "enforcement ...
Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemala blasted US President Donald Trump on Thursday over US deportations of migrants infected with coronavirus.President Alejandro Giammattei said the deportations had saturated quarantine centers in Guatemala and heaped pressure on the Central American country's weak health system."Guatemala is an ally to the United States, the United States is not an ally to Guatemala," he told the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based international affairs think tank."We understand that the United States wants to deport people, we understand that, but what we don't understand is th...
Wellington (AFP) - New Zealand's conservative opposition switched leaders Friday in a last-gasp bid to counter the record support Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is enjoying for containing the coronavirus.National Party lawmakers voted to ditch Simon Bridges after opinion polls predicted he was headed for a wipeout at a general election on September 19.His replacement is former agri-business executive Todd Muller, who faces a mammoth task to make the Nationals competitive before Kiwis cast their ballots in less than four months.Muller, 51, said his focus was on helping New Zealand's economy reco...
Riyadh (AFP) - The sons of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Friday they "forgive" the killers of their father, an announcement analysts said effectively grants clemency to five convicted people on death row.Khashoggi -- a royal family insider turned critic -- was killed and dismembered at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, in a case that tarnished the reputation of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.His family's pardon could spare the lives of five unnamed people sentenced to death over the murder in a December court ruling that exonerated two top a...
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - The novel coronavirus death toll in Brazil surpassed 20,000 on Thursday, after a record number of fatalities in a 24-hour period, the health ministry said.The country is the epicenter of the outbreak in Latin America, and its highest one-day toll of 1,188 pushed the overall death tally to 20,047.Brazil has now recorded more than 310,000 cases, with experts saying a lack of testing means the real figures are probably much higher.With its curve of infections and deaths rising sharply, the country of 210 million ranks third in the world in terms of total cases, behind the U...
Music icon Cher marked "ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE" Thursday after a Pakistani court ordered freedom for a lonely elephant named Kaavan, who had become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by the US singer.
"WE HAVE JUST HEARD FROM PAKISTAN HIGH COURT KAAVAN IS FREE," Cher tweeted, adding a string of emojis and saying she felt "SICK".
"THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE," the effusive singer continued.
The Islamabad High Court has ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lanka to find Kaavan a "suitable sanctuary" within 30 days, tweeted the Friends of Islamabad Zoo, which described itself as a group of citizens concerned about animal welfare at the zoo.
Outrage over treatment of Kaavan, an Asian elephant originally from Sri Lanka, went global several years ago with a petition garnering over 200,000 signatures after it emerged he was being chained at the Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan's leafy capital.
Zoo officials later said this was no longer the case, and that he just needed a new mate after his previous partner died in 2012.
But experts have told AFP previously that without a better habitat his future was bleak, even if a long-promised new mate finally arrives.
His behaviour -- including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly -- demonstrates "a kind of mental illness", Safwan Shahab Ahmad of the Pakistan Wildlife Foundation told AFP in 2016.
Activists said he had insufficient shelter from Islamabad's searing summer temperatures, which can rise to above 40 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).
Asian elephants can roam thousands of kilometers through deep tropical and subtropical forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
In contrast, Kaavan's 90 by 140 meter (100 by 150 yard) pen had almost no foliage, and only limited shade was provided.
Arriving as a one-year-old in 1985 from Sri Lanka, Kaavan was temporarily held in chains in 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about increasingly violent tendencies, but he was freed later that year after an outcry.
His mate Saheli, who arrived also from Sri Lanka in 1990, died in 2012, and in 2015 it emerged that Kaavan was regularly being chained once more -- for several hours a day.
Scores of people signed a petition sent to zoo authorities and Pakistan's then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in protest.
A second petition circulated in 2016 and backed by over 200,000 animal-lovers from across the globe demanded Kaavan's release to a sanctuary.
Cher, who for years has spoken out about Kaavan's plight, tweeted her thanks to the Pakistani government, adding "it's so emotional for us that I have to sit Down".
Italy’s death toll from the novel coronavirus in March and April could be nearly 19,000 higher than
The Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS), the largest social security and welfare institute in Italy, said in a new study that the official death figures were not “reliable”.
Its study showed that 156,42 total deaths were recorded in Italy in March and April, which is 46,909 higher than the average number of fatalities in those months recorded between 2015 and 2019.
But only 27,938 deaths linked to coronavirus were reported during that period by the Civil Protection Agency, whose toll forms the basis of national statistics, the INPS said.
That meant there were 18,971 more deaths than normal during this period, with the vast majority of 18,412 recorded in the coronavirus-ravaged north of the country.
“Given the fact that the number of deaths is quite stable in these times, we can — with necessary caution — attribute a large portion of these deaths during these past two months to the epidemic,” the INPS said.
It added that the increase in deaths was likely not only due to the disease, but from people suffering from other illnesses unable to get healthcare due to hospitals being overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Friday, the pandemic has claimed 32,486 deaths in Italy, of which 26,715 have been in Lombardy alone — Europe’s worst affected region.
The strongman leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was in a hospital in Moscow on Thursday suffering from suspected coronavirus, news agencies reported.
"Ramzan Kadyrov was taken by plane to Moscow with a suspected case of coronavirus. Now (he) is under medical supervision," state news agency TASS reported, citing a medical source who said Kadyrov was in a stable condition.
News agency RIA Novosti also quoted a medical source as saying that Kadyrov, 43, was in hospital in Moscow, while Interfax quoted a Moscow medical source saying he was being treated and was "suspected of having coronavirus".
If confirmed, Kadyrov would be the latest senior Russian official to contract the virus after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and several ministers.
There was no immediate comment from officials in Chechnya or Moscow on the reports he was infected.
RIA Novosti quoted an aide to Kadyrov, Grozny television chief Akhmed Dudayev, as saying the Chechen leader "is in personal control of the work of the coronavirus headquarters", without commenting on reports of his hospitalization.
A crucial ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov took power in Chechnya after his father Akhmat Kadyrov was killed in a 2004 bomb attack.
Both father and son had fought against Moscow during the first bloody separatist conflict in Chechnya from 1994-96 but switched sides to support the Kremlin when it launched a second war there in 1999 under the watch of then prime minister Putin.
Kadyrov calls himself a "foot soldier" but is widely thought to enjoy carte blanche from Moscow, which turns a blind eye to heavy-handed tactics in his North Caucasus fiefdom in exchange for loyalty.
He has taken a characteristically high-handed approach to the coronavirus, calling doctors who complained of a lack of protective equipment "provocateurs" who should be fired.
Kadyrov said that people who broke coronavirus quarantine should be "killed," and compared Chechens who did not self-isolate and infected others to "terrorists" who should be buried in pits.
He also threatened a Russian journalist who reported that Chechens were battling the virus in their homes instead of seeking support from ill-equipped hospitals because they feared punitive reprisals from overbearing law enforcement.
Russia has recorded 3,099 coronavirus deaths and 317,554 infections, the second-highest number of cases in the world after the United States.
Mainly Muslim Chechnya has recorded 1,026 cases and 11 deaths.
Despite the high number of infections, Russians officials say the situation is stabilizing and the mortality rate is low, and have begun easing lockdown measures in many parts of the country.
There's no meaningful link between an athlete having a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) and winning an Olympic medal, a study unveiled Thursday by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found.
US tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and reigning Olympic and world all-around gymnastics champion Simone Biles are among athletes who have used TUEs, special permission to take otherwise banned substances for medical needs.
Their WADA medical data, including use of TUEs, was revealed publicly by a hacker in 2016.
The WADA study examined athletes with TUEs at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Summer Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to see if athletes with TUEs won more medals than those without.
"The number of athletes competing with valid TUEs (in individual competition) at the selected Games was less than 1%," said WADA medical director Dr. Alan Vernec said.
"The analysis suggests there's no meaningful association between competing with a TUE and the likelihood of winning a medal.
"The results of this study provide objective data to dispel some of the misunderstandings and misgivings surrounding TUEs."
Biles said in 2016 that she had been taking medicine since childhood for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Venus Williams defended her use of TUEs in 2018, saying she regularly used them but "I am never, ever going to take an advantage over someone else. That is not who I am."
Athletes are given TUEs only after a review process and evaluation by a physicians panel on the medical relevance of the request. WADA and other anti-doping organizations then conduct further evaluation.
"The TUE Program is a necessary part of sport, allowing athletes with legitimate medical conditions to compete on a level playing field," Vernec said.
"It has overwhelming acceptance from athletes, physicians and anti-doping stakeholders and there is a stringent process in place to avoid abuse of the system."
Researchers calculated risk ratios for the probability of winning a medal with and without TUEs and adjusted for the fact athletes from nations with greater resources might produce better performances due to other factors.
There were 181 TUE users among 20,139 athletes who won 21 of 2,062 medals awarded, 0.9% in all. The ratio for winning a medal with a TUE was 1.13 compared to a 1.07 adjusted risk ratio.
Editor’s note: Muslims all over the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, one of the religion’s principal festivals. In August, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Adha. Ken Chitwood, a scholar of global Islam, explains the two Islamic festivals.
1. What is Eid?
Eid literally means a “festival” or “feast” in Arabic. There are two major eids in the Islamic calendar per year – Eid al-Fitr earlier in the year and Eid al-Adha later.
Eid al-Fitr is a three-day-long festival and is known as the “Lesser” or “Smaller Eid” when compared to Eid al-Adha, which is four-days-long and is known as the “Greater Eid.”
2. Why is Eid celebrated twice a year?
The two Eids recognize, celebrate and recall two distinct events that are significant to the story of Islam.
Eid al-Fitr features two to three days of celebrations that include special morning prayers. People greet each other with “Eid Mubarak,” meaning “Blessed Eid” and with formal embraces. Sweet dishes are prepared at home and gifts are given to children and to those in need. In addition, Muslims are encouraged to forgive and seek forgiveness. Practices vary from country to country.
In many countries with large Muslim populations, Eid al-Fitr is a national holiday. Schools, offices and businesses are closed so family, friends and neighbors can enjoy the celebrations together. In the U.S. and the U.K., Muslims may request to have the day off from school or work to travel or celebrate with family and friends.
In countries like Egypt and Pakistan, Muslims decorate their homes with lanterns, twinkling lights or flowers. Special food is prepared and friends and family are invited over to celebrate.
Fanous, the colorful lanterns of Ramadan, light up the streets of Amman, Jordan, throughout the holy month of fasting.
In places like Jordan, with its Muslim majority population, the days before Eid al-Fitr can see a rush at local malls and special “Ramadan markets” as people prepare to exchange gifts on Eid al-Fitr.
The other festival, Eid al-Adha, is the “feast of the sacrifice.” It comes at the end of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage by millions of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia that is obligatory once in a lifetime, but only for those with means.
Eid al-Adha recalls the story of how God commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as a test of faith. The story, as narrated in the Quran, describes Satan’s attempt to tempt Ibrahim so he would disobey God’s command. Ibrahim, however, remains unmoved and informs Ismail, who is willing to be sacrificed.
But, just as Ibrahim attempts to kill his son, God intervenes and a ram is sacrificed in place of Ismail. During Eid al-Adha, Muslims slaughter an animal to remember Ibrahim’s sacrifice and remind themselves of the need to submit to the will of God.
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and dates are calculated based on lunar phases. Since the Islamic calendar year is shorter than the solar Gregorian calendar year by 10 to 12 days, the dates for Ramadan and Eid on the Gregorian calendar can vary year by year.
6. What is the spiritual meaning of Eid al-Fitr?
Eid al-Fitr, as it follows the fasting of Ramadan, is also seen as a spiritual celebration of Allah’s provision of strength and endurance.
People distribute food and drinks during the Eid celebrations in Casablanca, Morocco.
Amid the reflection and rejoicing, Eid al-Fitr is a time for charity, known as Zakat al-Fitr. Eid is meant to be a time of joy and blessing for the entire Muslim community and a time for distributing one’s wealth.
Charity to the poor is a highly emphasized value in Islam. The Quran says,
“Believe in Allah and his messenger, and give charity out of the (substance) that Allah has made you heirs of. For those of you who believe and give charity – for them is a great reward.”
Beijing's linking of its detention of two Canadians in China to the arrest of a Chinese executive in Vancouver shows it doesn't understand the meaning of an independent judiciary, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.
China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor in December 2018, nine days after the arrest on a US warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.
"We've seen Chinese officials linking those two cases from the very beginning," Trudeau said.
" Canada has an independent judicial system that functions without interference or override by politicians.
"China doesn't work quite the same way and doesn't seem to understand that," he said, calling the linkage of the cases "distressing" while vowing to continue to press for the release of the two Canadians.
The arrests led to the worst ever crisis in relations between the two nations, with accusations of "arbitrary detentions" and hostage diplomacy met with trade sanctions and suspended consular visits.
Kovrig and Spavor have been held on espionage suspicions, and refused access to lawyers.
Meng, meanwhile, has been living in a Vancouver mansion after being granted bail while fighting extradition in court.
The United States is seeking to put her on trial for Huawei's alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran.
Earlier, Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu told Global News that "competent Chinese authorities are handling the cases (of Kovrig and Spavor) according to law."
He then pivoted to Meng, saying her case was "the biggest issue in our bilateral relationship," renewing demands that she be sent back to China "smoothly and safely."
A decision in the first phase of the Meng case, which dealt with whether her alleged crimes are punishable in Canada -- a key criteria for extradition to proceed -- is expected on Wednesday.
If the judge rules against Meng, then the case will proceed to a second phase of arguments in June.
