News of the World

[kyonides]

Soccer-Sweden women end U.S. unbeaten run
Dutch put 10 past Zambia

World champions the United States were dealt a 3-0 drubbing by Sweden to end a 30-month unbeaten run, and the Netherlands put 10 goals past a hapless Zambia on a day of drama as the Olympics women's soccer tournament kicked off.
Several teams including the U.S., Britain, Chile, Sweden and New Zealand took the knee before Wednesday's kickoffs in support of racial equality, while two Brazil veterans set Games records.
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No team has ever won Olympic gold while world champion since women's football made its Games debut in 1996.

EU rejects UK demand for new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland

Britain demanded on Wednesday that the European Union agree to rewrite a deal overseeing problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland just a year after it was agreed with the bloc, a call immediately rejected by Brussels.
The Northern Ireland protocol was part of the Brexit settlement, backed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that finally sealed Britain's divorce from the EU four years after voters backed leaving in a referendum.
Businesses in Northern Ireland say it is damaging trade, and some pro-British groups have protested at what they say is a weakening of ties with Britain, raising concerns about a return to the violence which plagued the province for three decades.
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He said London wanted a new "balance" to eliminate EU oversight of the accord,and that Britain already had the right to unilaterally deviate from parts of it.
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The protocol addresses the biggest conundrum of the divorce: how to ensure the delicate peace brought to the province by a U.S.-brokered 1998 peace accord - by maintaining an open border - without opening a back door through neighbouring Ireland to the EU's single market of 450 million people.

It essentially requires checks on goods between the British mainland and Northern Ireland, which remains part of the EU customs area. These have proved burdensome to companies and an anathema to unionists, who are fiercely supportive of the province remaining part of the United Kingdom.

Colombian children learn to identify landmines buried during country's civil war

A non-profit organization is teaching children in rural Colombia how to identify landmines placed near their communities by armed guerrilla groups during the country's long civil war.
Since 2013, the HALO Trust Foundation has created programs to deactivate anti-personnel mines in the regions of Antioquia, Meta, Tolima, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Putumayo. So far, they have been able to declare 900 free of mines. They also teach children and their communities about the risks of the mines, how to spot them, and what to do if they find one.
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According to the HALO Trust Foundation, since 1990 around 12,000 people have been injured or died in Colombia because of undetonated explosives.

Israel appoints task force to assess NSO spyware allegations -sources

Israel has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess growing allegations that spyware sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale, Israeli sources said on Wednesday.
One source said the team is headed by Israel's National Security Council, which answers to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and has broader areas of expertise than the Defence Ministry, which oversees exports of NSO Group's Pegasus software.
Another source said the National Security Council is not involved and that the assessment is being carried out by senior defence, intelligence and diplomatic officials.
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On Wednesday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said French President Emmanuel Macron had called for a series of investigations to be carried out into the Pegasus spyware case.
Macron's phone was on a list of potential targets for possible surveillance on behalf of Morocco in the Pegasus case, France's Le Monde newspaper said on Tuesday.

Can unidentified sources be considered reliable?

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake jolts Costa Rica

A magnitude 6.5 6.8 earthquake shook much of Costa Rica on Wednesday afternoon.
The Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) said the tremor occurred at 3:15 p.m. and had an epicenter on the Burica Peninsula, near the border between Costa Rica and Panama.
Below is the preliminary report of Wednesday’s event from OVSICORI:

Source: http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/index.php/sismos-sentidos

Date: 2021-07-21
Time: 15:15:00
Magnitude: 6.8
Depth: 10
Location: 45 km South from Punta Burica.
Cause: Zona de Fractura de Panamá / Panama's Fault
Intensity: Strong nationwide
Coordinates: 7.4915 N and -82.8555 W

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) says an evaluation of possible damage is underway. Posts on social media described a lengthy shake, with some in the Southern Pacific and Caribbean saying  objects fell off shelves.
Costa Rica’s National Tsunami Monitoring System (SINAMOT) said there is no risk for a tsunami in the country following Wednesday’s earthquake. SINAMOT recommends evacuating to higher ground immediately in the face of strong and/or long earthquakes in the future.
The United States Geological Survey measured the earthquake as a magnitude 7.0 with an epicenter 80 km SSE of Punta de Burica, Panama. It was later recalculated at magnitude 6.8.

 Gladly nothing happened where I live but it was strong and kind of long indeed.