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Roger Stone: Robert Mueller defends indictment over Russia probe Former US special counsel Robert Mueller has made a rare public intervention to defend his indictment of former Trump adviser Roger Stone. Stone was found guilty on charges linked to an investigation led by Mr Mueller that found Russia tried to boost the Trump 2016 election campaign. President Donald Trump commuted Stone's 40-month jail sentence on Friday saying he was the victim of a "witch-hunt". In the Washington Post, Mr Mueller said Stone was rightly a convicted felon. Stone was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress. The president's move - sparing Stone from jail but not a pardon - came just after a court denied Stone's request to delay the start date of his prison term. Leading Democrats and a few Republicans have condemned Mr Trump's decision, saying it undermined the justice system. Roger Stone: Trump ally and Russia probe defendant America's most mysterious public figure Trump 'not exonerated' by Mueller report The White House said that Department of Justice prosecutors under Mr Mueller only charged Stone out of frustration after failing to prove the "fantasy" that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Kremlin. What do Mueller and others say? Mr Mueller writes that he felt compelled to respond to claims that his investigation had been illegitimate, his motives improper, and Stone a victim "The Russia investigation was of paramount importance. Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so," he wrote. He said that finding evidence of Russian interference was a complex task that took "two years and substantial effort" and resulted in a number of charges and prosecutions. Stone's obstruction may have impeded efforts to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable, he added. "We made every decision in Stone's case, as in all our cases, based solely on the facts and the law and in accordance with the rule of law," he concluded. "The women and men who conducted these investigations and prosecutions acted with the highest integrity. Claims to the contrary are false." Mr Mueller rarely makes public statements about the investigation, and the article is the first since he gave testimony in Congress in July 2019. His reaction follows strong condemnation by senior Democrats, with presidential contender Joe Biden's spokesman accusing Mr Trump of abuse of power and "laying waste" to US values. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said it showed Mr Trump was the most corrupt president in history. Some Republican critics of Mr Trump have also spoken out, with Senator Mitt Romney describing the president's decision as "unprecedented, historic corruption". Skip Twitter post by @MittRomney Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 11, 2020 Report End of Twitter post by @MittRomney What does the president say? In a tweet on Saturday, Mr Trump said: "Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place." Earlier, the White House said in a statement that Stone was "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency". Facebook bans 'Roger Stone disinformation network' 'Disgusted' judge jails Trump ally It also suggested that the FBI had tipped off CNN about their pre-dawn raid on Stone's house, noting that a camera crew for the cable network was on the scene to record the arrest. Mr Trump had been hinting about a reprieve for Stone for months, including on Thursday night in an interview with a Fox News host. Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham was among those welcoming the decision. He said Stone was convicted of a "nonviolent, first-time offense" and the president was "justified" in commuting the sentence. Stone himself told reporters that under the terms of the commutation he could now appeal against his sentence, and was confident that he could expose "an enormous amount of corruption" at his trial. What was Stone convicted of? The president's commutation does not void a criminal conviction as a pardon does. Stone was found guilty of lying to the House Intelligence Committee about his attempts to contact Wikileaks, the website that released damaging emails about Mr Trump's 2016 Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton. US intelligence officials have concluded the messages were stolen by Russian hackers. Stone had acknowledged during the 2016 campaign that he was in contact with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. He also intimated that he knew the website would disclose more than 19,000 emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee servers. Stone's sentence fell short of an initial seven-to-nine-year recommendation from prosecutors. In a remarkable move, US Attorney General William Barr had overruled that sentencing guideline following a Trump tweet, and instead recommended a more lenient punishment. That intervention led to the entire Stone prosecution team resigning from the case.

John O’Groats to Land’s End in a hydrogen fuel cell car pparently cost around £250 million. So instead, some of this surplus electricity is used to split water into its constituent parts, the hydrogen element stored in pressurised gas canisters and ferried to Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney. Once there, the hydrogen is used to produce... electricity. If that sounds rather a wasteful thing to do, well, welcome to the world of energy generation, and the awkward challenge of storing and transporting that energy to the place you want it, at the time you want it. What has this got to do with driving a fuel cell Toyota Mirai from John O’Groats to Land’s End? A lot more than you might think, and in ways that may eventually affect not only the way that your car is propelled, but also how your house is heated too. The way to look at a fuel cell electric car, explains Jon Hunt, Toyota GB’s alternative fuels manager, is to see it as one component within a cycle of future energy generation and usage. Fuelling a car – and your house, heating and hi-fi – is going to get a lot more complex than an energy company piping volts to your junction box. Instead, it’s going to become a world of give and take, of energy generated by a mix of intermittent renewables and less desirable, but reliable, fossil fuels. But enough, for now, of the potential energy cycles of tomorrow. Right now, our task is to drive the 230-odd miles from John O’Groats to Aberdeen. Not usually a problem with a conventional car, of course, or even a pure electric car if you plan some recharging stops, but in a fuel cell car, the challenge lies in the fact that there are presently only nine hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK. There will be 16 by the end of the year, but that’s of little help to us now, which is why we are specifically heading for Aberdeen, where there is a brand-new hydrogen fuel station. The Mirai will travel a hell of a lot further than the often mythical 100 miles of small electric cars – its not-quite-full hydrogen tanks contain enough to carry us 198 miles, according to the trip computer. Which is a pity, because the first leg is 230 miles. So it looks like we’ll be heading south slowly, though not unknowingly, with the Mirai’s trip computer providing real-time updates of our hydrogen consumption and range. This is automotive on-board data with a difference, the units of measurement being kilograms of hydrogen used per hundred kilometres rather than mpg. The Mirai’s twin tanks (there are two of these carbonfibre, glassfibre-encased cylinders solely for packaging reasons) hold 5kg at a pressure of 10,000psi, or 700 bar. A supply of 5kg doesn’t sound much, and alarmingly less when the screen read-out tells us that we’re getting through it at the rate of 2.5kg per 100km. But Hunt tells us that the high initial reading is partly because of the difficulty of measuring the consumption of a fuel that tends to careen in multiple directions rather than consistently flow like petrol. Just a few ginger miles into our trip, consumption halves to 1.2kg/km. But to have a chance of eking out our hydrogen reserves to 230 miles, I’ll have to score a running average of 0.9kg or less, warns Hunt. So we’ll be holding up traffic shortly. Back to top There’s little of it about at first, though. We amble along at 50mph or so, enjoying the Mirai’s boldly individual dashboard. There’s much staring at the consumption read-out, of course, but also the swooping edges and hard corners of the infotainment display and the centre console. It’s not an especially beautiful piece of sculpture, this dashboard, but it’s interestingly busy, rather like the Mirai’s oxygen-gulping, air-cleaving body, which is now occasionally being impeded by traffic. More often, though, it’s the other way around: the desire to go slowly and conserve our hydrogen supplies (now that sounds like a phrase of the future) is still strong despite a consumption rate that has fallen to the desired 0.9kg per 100km. Soon will come hills, however, in the undulating and picturesque form of the Cairngorms. Why climb when we could travel more flatly closer to the coast? Because it should be quieter, and because theM1, when it comes, will be a long and dull contrast. To improve our economising, snapper Luc Lacey joins the back-up Land Cruiser with all his kit to reduce the Mirai’s load, and I run with the air conditioner off, which is more of a sacrifice than it might sound on this sunny day in spring-like Scotland. The Cairngorms promise an entertaining challenge – the aim being to avoid heightening the Mirai’s hydrogen appetite despite an assortment of ascents. With ascents come descents, of course, offering the chance for some fuel saving, and potentially of the exciting kind. Exciting economising? Absolutely, because the aim is to gain as much downhill momentum as you dare and conserve it, ideally with the minimum of braking. Given that there’s an on-board, fuel cell-supplementing, nickel- metal hydride battery pack in regular need of a charge, avoiding the brakes mightseem a surprise because you’d expect to use them to provide regeneration opportunities. However, there’s no scope for regeneration with the Mirai, explains Hunt, because there’s only one motor, andit therefore can’t double as a generator. The brakes are to be avoided, then, within safe reason. Still, when you’re gaining speed down a Cairngorm and trying not to lose it, that can get quite thrilling. The roads are empty enough to uncover a slightly unexpected and deeply pleasing quality of the Mirai, which is that it will comfortably navigate corners at quite a pace and minimal drama, despite its relatively simple MacPherson strut, torsion beam axle suspension, and a fair bit of heft. One major reason is that it is low-lying heft – its fuel cell, battery and motor packaging providing a low centre of gravity. Another is decent chassis balance. This is no sports saloon, but the Mirai is certainly fleet of low-rolling-resistance foot, besides providing encouragingly precise steering. Back to top All of which makes this section of the trip pretty enjoyable. And to the surprise of several of us, pretty productive on the economy front too, the Mirai’s hunger dropping to 0.6kg per 100 km. Our 80-mile range is now three miles greater than the remaining distance to Aberdeen, and when we get there, that difference has grown to 38 miles. Hunt reckons there’s a reserve beyond that too. None of which diminishes the relief of seeing Aberdeen’s shiny new hydrogen refuelling station, this city boldly pushing ahead with the hydrogen fuel cell cause. Like Orkney, Aberdeen has an excessof wind power, as well as a highly skilled workforce available from the now-declining North Sea oil industry. Aberdeen now has the busiest hydrogen fuel station in Europe and, indeed, we are part of the unlikely sight of a queue of refuelling Mirais. It’s impressive to realise that in Aberdeen and Orkney, the hydrogen fuel cell economy is already here. That there’s still a long way to go is underlined at our next stop in Sunderland on day two, where we replenish the Mirai from a hydrogen-dispensing truck provided by Fuel Cell Systems. The reason that the refuelling takes place at a factory in Tyne and Wear, rather than at a handy truck stop en route, is that there will be a permanent hydrogen fuel station, rooted to the ground, in Sunderland later this year. The factory in question is Haskel, which is developing the sophisticated hydrogen refuelling systems needed to replenish high-pressure hydrogen tanks swiftly and without a pause. This mobile refuelling process took about 10 minutes rather than the four minutes from a permanent fuel station – a delay most users will hopefully be happy to accept for a mobile supply that’s potentially available anywhere and still vastly less time-consuming than recharging an EV. A facility like this would allow the wanton use of hydrogen, and we are able to be equally wanton on the first leg of day three, to Rotherham, because the distance is easily within the Mirai’s reach. It’s difficult to drive with abandon after husbanding our hydrogen for many hundreds of miles, but this is a good chance to stretch the Mirai’s 152bhp, 247lb ft electric motor, which spins up more strongly than you might expect, providing performance that’s a lot more interesting than eco. Despite which, it’s hard not to scroll through the Mirai’s multiple display screens. Back to top Apart from your current average hydrogen consumption and average speed, you can watch the pulsing power-flow schematic familiar to Prius owners (though it’s less complicated), and view a dated daily record of your distance and consumption. There’s real pleasure in seeing what the Mirai can do, and what you can do with it. Indeed, your own resource-husbanding efforts are assessed by the car itself; my best economy driving, on the rare occasions when I remembered to check the display, scored 84 out of 100 A useful score-improver is to let the electric motor’s in-built creep get you moving before you get accelerating and, more obviously, stay in the econometer’s green zone. These are techniques we will adopt on the final leg of the journey from the Shell hydrogen pump located at Beaconsfield services. The reason for deploying every technique is that Land’s End is 276 miles away, which is further than we have been on a full tank, if within the Mirai’s claimed 300-mile range. Once again, we drive like we’re towing a caravan, doubtless triggering similar levels of slow-tow irritation among those in our wake, who are unaware that this displaced air is completely unpolluted by the Toyota in front. By the time we get to Devon, we look likely to make it. Our cruise rises to a more reasonable 60mph, which drops once we’re travelling between the hedge-walled lanes of Cornwall. Our excitement is replaced by bafflement when we arrive because the famous Land’s End signpost is nowhere to be seen. Turns out that it’s stored for the night by the owner of Britain’s south-west tip, who charges £10 for photographs of the signpost, for which we must wait until tomorrow. Meanwhile, we calculate that we’ve driven 1109 miles, including our travel from Orkney, and that we’ve been behind the wheel for 19 hours and 40 minutes, at a 56mph average speed and a similarly decent 0.9kg of hydrogen per 100km. We used 16.1kg in all, at a cost of £193, working out at 17.9p per mile. We spent 15 minutes refuelling during our four stops and exhausted 14.5 litres of unadulterated water. During our celebratory photographs the following day, we’re joined by a group of Japanese tourists delighted at our record- setting, and still more so that it was achieved in a Toyota. One day, perhaps, they and us will regularly be driving fuel cell cars. The route: If you’re driving from John O’Groats to Land’s End the direct way, you don’t go to easterly Aberdeen, even if that’s further south. It’s no more helpful to head to east-coast Sunderland, nor Rotherham or Beaconsfield, even if all are closer to the equator and therefore to Land’s End. But this roundabout route, as you’ll have guessed, was dictated by the availability of hydrogen fuelling stations. Surf ’N’ turf hydrogen project: On Eday, an island in Orkney, there’s so much wind power that they often have to stall the wind turbines, because there’s nowhere for the electricity to go. Which is how the idea of using it to electrolyse water to yield hydrogen came about. That hydrogen is pumped into steel canisters and shipped to Kirkwall, the Orkney capital, where it’s turned back into electricity by a room full of fuel cells. The power is used by ferries docked and reloading at Kirkwall Pier, while the heat generated is used by local buildings. Aberdeen hydrogen station: The once oil-rich Aberdeen has developed a hydrogen strategy in conjunction with many funders and partners including the EU, energy companies, the Scottish Government, the local council, transport operators and car makers. How Toyota makes the Mirai: There’s one powerful reason why the little pilot plant where Toyota’s hand-made, hydrogen-powered Mirai comes to life looks so very much like it could otherwise be building an Aston or a McLaren. It’s because this same plant that turns out one Mirai every 70 minutes — buried inside Toyota’s giant Motomachi works that started making Crown family saloons in 1959 — was previously the crucible of a run of500 Lexus LFA supercars, using a similar recipe of exotic materials and practising the same principles of hand manufacture. Toyota started making the Mirai in 2014 and has so far sold around 3000 copies in the US, 1500 in Japan and 200 in Europe. Production is slowly ramping up while opinions continue to vary globally over whether hydrogen fuel cell propulsion can ever be important enough to be viable. There’s considerable scepticism on our side of the world that contrasts heavily with the view in Japan and Korea that such cars represent an essential step towards the zero- emissions ‘hydrogen society’ seen by many, including Asian governments, as an ultimate objective. For now, Mirai manufacture is almost entirely by hand. A tight-knit body of workers uses muscle to push the chassis on trolleys along a tiny production line, adding fascia, powertrain and suspension sub- assemblies hand-made off-line by others. Even operations like the bonding-in of the windscreen, robotised almost everywhere else, are done by hand. Not that the operation lacks modernity: bodies are painted by the same process used for bigger-volume Motomachi models. Hand-picked technicians wield computer-linked power tools. Work requires constant verification and signing off (though on paper, in actual handwriting). Toyota aims to build the next Mirai on its new, highly flexible TGNA architecture, already configured for a fuel cell version. For now, the current Mirai’s unique architecture and slow build rate suffice. But Toyota remains adamant that hydrogen cars are heading for practicality and prominence. And having confounded hybrid sceptics by so far putting 10 million Prius family cars on the road, it has earned the right to be confident. This article was originally published on 24 June 2018. We're revisiting some of Autocar's most po[CENSORED]r features to provide engaging content in these challenging times.

The girl who sings Mozart, in sargam Growing up in a Bengali family, music happened for Samadipta Mukherjee by default. Her music aficionado father exposed her to Hindustani classical music, ghazals, Najrulgeeti, and old Bengali and Hindi film songs at home. In filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film, Chhaya (1961), a delicate Salil Chaudhury ditty represents the Bengali composer’s style, different from those in Bollywood at the time. The phrasing is breezy with rhythm variation in place alongside experimentations with major and minor scales and a sense of earthy, somewhat indigenous impression to the melody. The warm woodwinds and swelling strings lead us into this piece – Itna na mujhse tu pyaar badhaa, ke main ik baadal awaara – with actors Asha Parekh and Sunil Dutt in the frame. As admired as the song is, it has also sounded extremely familiar for the Indian audience. And the reason is that Chaudhury, in this song, was flirting with parts of the first movement of The Great G Minor Symphony, better known as Symphony No. 40 and po[CENSORED]r world over. Created by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during the Viennese Classical Period – roughly about 100 years between the mid-18th and the mid-19th century – Chaudhury’s song is how a lot of people in India have had this significant symphony’s underlying notes ingrained in their heads and hearts. While the first four lines follow the symphony directly, the rest of the song takes off into a different direction, not that the composer ever withheld the idea of finding inspiration in the western classical greats. Namaskar. Mujhe ye video kisine bheja, is ladki ne mahan Austrian sangeetkar Mozart ki 40th Symphony G Minor ko Bhartiya Sargam mein bahut sudar tarah se gaaya hai. Main isko aashirwad deti hun ki ye ek acchi gaayika bane. pic.twitter.com/J6u2GyWbCD — Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) July 6, 2020 The connection of the song to the famed symphony always fascinated Kolkata-based vocalist Samadipta Mukherjee, 22. Since any music created anywhere works on the permutations and combinations of the same seven notes and their variations, she decided to notate the symphony in the Indian sargam format. With much precision in a home video, Mukherjee is seen singing the notes alongside one of the symphony’s many versions available online. It was interesting because in Indian classical music, an oral legacy, one does not read or write music, which is generally devoid of staff notation – an intrinsic characteristic of western classical music. Also, most of the times, if the notations exist, then they are for the Indian bandishes, mostly for students to understand the science of the raga they are learning. They are eventually to play in one’s head while the words that are sung need to represent them. In the past sitar maestro, Pt Ravi Shankar and sarod legend Ut Amjad Ali Khan among others have collaborated with western classical musicians and created Indian staff notations for western pieces for the purposes of collaborations. The video found much attention as many people took notice, including Mangeshkar, who, incidentally, was also the female voice for the Chaudhury song. She complimented the singer on Twitter, by giving her “aashirwaad” and said that she hoped for her to be a brilliant singer one day. “The symphony’s special connection with the lovely Salil Chaudhury song is why I decided to do this. I uploaded the video on my Facebook page first and never thought that it will get such surprising responses. Getting blessings from Lata ji was beyond my imagination. I worship her. It has been my dream to meet her. When I saw her post, I was almost shivering,” says Mukherjee, who is not a full-time musician but does stage performances. “In my family, I am the first person to have taken music seriously,” adds Mukherjee. Her mother is a teacher while her father works in the private sector. The video found much attention as many people took notice, including Lata Mangeshkar, who, incidentally, was also the female voice for the Chaudhury song Growing up in a Bengali family, music happened for Mukherjee by default. Her music aficionado father exposed her to Hindustani classical music, ghazals, Najrulgeeti, and old Bengali and Hindi film songs at home. “Like it is for most Bengali children, sur and taal have been a part of life since childhood,” says Mukherjee, who is pursuing a masters in music from the University of Calcutta. She started learning music at the age of four from her uncle Swarajit Guha Roy. She then learned the ropes of Indian classical music under the aegis of Pt Kalyan Chattopadhyay and is now under the tutelage of Subhamita Bandopadhyay. Her interest in western classical music happened a few years ago after she attended a workshop by po[CENSORED]r Bengali composer, Debojyoti Mishra. “He is the master who sowed the seed within me. He would tell me to listen to the works of Mozart and Beethoven, which I did,” says Mukherjee, who is now working on an original song composed by her uncle. She has received a lot of requests on social media to put up something new. ALSO READ | How Covid lockdown inspired this Delhi boy to create his first hip-hop song Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most influential and imperative residents of Vienna, wrote the famed The Great G Minor Symphony, better known as Symphony No. 40 in 1782. But in only a handful of times that it was performed, Mozart wasn’t satisfied. On July 10, 1802, musician Johann Wenzel wrote to publisher Ambrosius Kuhnel, and mentioned one of the performances of the symphony at Baron Gottfried van Swieten’s home. “But the execution was so poor that the composer had to leave the room,” wrote Wenzel in the letter. Never would have Mozart thought that one of his most significant works would be sung in India, much less in the Indian notation format. Mukherjee is attempting to climb the bridge that some very senior musicians have in the past. We are listening.

Iran explosions: Officials deny reports of fresh blast Iranian officials have denied reports of an explosion west of the capital Tehran on Thursday, the latest in a series of mysterious blasts to hit the country in recent weeks. Social media users reported hearing explosions in the nearby cities of Garmdareh and Qods, state media said. It is not clear where the reported incident took place. Key sites including nuclear facilities and oil refineries have been damaged in recent incidents. In July Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation confirmed a fire took place at a nuclear plant in Natanz. The incident is reported to have set back Iran's nuclear programme. Rumours of the latest incident began circulating online at around midnight on Thursday, according to reports by state-run IRIB news agency. Locals reported hearing three or four mortar-like sounds similar to anti-aircraft weapons, reported government-run Press TV. A small number of social media accounts claiming to be from Garmdareh reported hearing sounds, according to analysis by BBC News, but images of fire and damaged buildings circulating online were found to be old. What is behind mysterious fires at Iran's key sites? Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words Why do the limits on uranium enrichment matter? Qods governor Leila Vaseghi told government-run news agency IRNA that a short power outage occurred in the city but it was linked to a hospital. The member of parliament for Qods also denied that an explosion happened in the city and said the power outages were related to the routine activities of the local power company. The major of Garmdareh said the sound heard locally was an "explosion at a factory making gas cylinders", according to the New York Times. What other incidents have taken place? Since late June there have been several unexplained fires or blasts at sensitive sites: 26 June: Blast at a liquid fuel production facility for ballistic missiles in Khojir, close to Parchin, near Tehran; fire at power plant in Shiraz, causing a blackout 30 June: Explosion at a medical clinic in Tehran, 19 people killed 2 July: Blast and fire at Natanz nuclear site 3 July: Large fire in Shiraz 4 July: Explosion and fire in power plant in Ahwaz; chlorine gas leak at Karoun petrochemical plant in Mahshahr The Supreme National Security of Iran says the cause of the explosion at Natanz nuclear site has been determined but cannot currently be announced due to security reasons. Some Iranian officials told Reuters news agency that Israel is suspected of bombing the site. When asked if Israel was behind the incident, Israel's foreign minister responded "our actions in Iran [are] better left unsaid".

Skoda Slavia: student-built Scala Spider named Students from Skoda’s Vocational Academy are developing an open-top Spider version of the Scala, which has been named the Slavia in recognition of the Czech brand's origins. Skoda founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement first began working together 125 years ago, repairing and then selling bicycles under the Slavia name. The roofless version of the family car will be revealed later this month and will be the seventh concept car produced by students on the Czech firm’s training scheme. Previous machines have included a Kodiaq-based pick-up and a convertible Karoq. First drive: Skoda Mountiaq student pick-up concept The Scala Spider is being developed by a team of 20 apprentices currently training at Skoda’s Mlada Boleslav headquarters, with guidance from design chief Oliver Stefani. Skoda engineers are giving advice to the team while the machine is constructed. The Scala was launched in late 2018 and this is the first time the hatch has been used as the basis for a student car project. The students are given a standard version of the car and the design freedom to adapt it as they wish. Having decided on an open-top bodystyle, design work has focused on making the car’s lines more prominent to give it added ‘visual dynamics’. The finished Scala Spider is scheduled to be revealed in June and there is no production intent for the car. The first student car concept was the Citijet, a two-seat Citigo. It was followed by the Funstar (a Fabia-based pick-up), the Atero (Rapid-Spaceback-based coupé), the Citigo-based electric Element, the Sunroq (a Karoq convertible) and last year's Mountiaq.

Jammu Kashmir: Parks, gardens in Srinagar reopen for visitors After the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s nod, the parks and gardens in Srinagar have been opened for visitors on Wednesday amid COVID-19 lockdown relaxations. As a precautionary measure, wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing is a must for all visitors. Thermal screening of those entering the gardens is also being conducted as well as they are being provided with sanitisers to clean their hands. Umar Maqbool, a local visitor, said, “Since the lockdown was imposed, I have come to the park today. This is a nice step by the government as the people were disturbed due to the lockdown. If people decide to visit the parks, they should take full precautions. The opening of gardens also resumed some small businesses.” Also see | PHOTOS: Jammu and Kashmir parks, gardens reopen for visitors Ice-cream vendors, photographers, restaurant owners, and other vendors have welcomed the government’s decision. Mohamad Hanief, who earns from selling ice-creams said, “We stayed indoors for four months. Even if few people visit, at least we will be able to sell something. Today is the first day, so fewer people are coming but normalcy will return gradually.” “While sitting at home, the stress levels among people has increased; opening gardens would help a lot. Since tourists are expected to visit the historical Mughal gardens including Nishat Shalimar, the department of floriculture has given clear instructions to the employees to strictly follow the guidelines including wearing marks, sanitising hands, and maintaining physical distance,” said Javaid Ahmad Masoodi, Floriculture Officer, Mughal Gardens. The gardens and parks were closed for public entry since March in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

US Supreme Court to rule on revealing Trump tax returns The US Supreme Court is set to decide whether President Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records can be examined by Congress and prosecutors - a ruling with potentially huge political consequences. Mr Trump refuses to share documents concerning his fortune and business. His lawyers argue he enjoys total immunity while in office. The ruling will test that claim and has implications on how far US lawmakers can scrutinise the president. Even a ruling in Congress's favour would not necessarily make Mr Trump's tax returns public before his bid for re-election in November. Mr Trump, who made his money as a property developer, is the first president since Richard Nixon in the 1970s not to have made his tax returns public. He calls the investigation into his tax affairs a "witch hunt" and sees the congressional case as a device to harass him politically. Why has this gone to the Supreme Court? Two Democrat-controlled House of Representatives committees and New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance - also a Democrat - are demanding the release of his tax returns and other information. The subpoenas - orders to hand over evidence - were issued last year to Mazars USA, who are Mr Trump's accountants, and to major Trump lenders Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Lower courts in Washington and New York ruled against the president in all cases, but those decisions have been put on hold pending a final court ruling. Trump loses court case to keep tax returns secret Five claims in Trump niece's tell-all book Trump tax returns 'will never be released' Trump's parents and siblings: What do we know of them? Deutsche Bank was one of the few banks willing to lend to Mr Trump after a series of corporate bankruptcies in the 1990s, and the documents sought include records related to the president, the Trump Organization and his family. The banks and the accounting firm said they would release the information if ordered. Mr Trump's lawyers argued that Congress had no authority to issue the subpoenas, and no valid justification to seek the records. Why is it sensitive politically? Damaging revelations about President Trump's financial affairs could hurt his campaign for re-election. He has already slumped in opinion polls, as critics accuse him of mishandling the coronavirus crisis. The New York investigation covers alleged hush money payments made by Mr Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to two women - adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who both say they had affairs with Mr Trump. Such payments could violate campaign financing laws. The president denies the affairs took place. Concerns have already been raised about possible conflicts of interest in Mr Trump's businesses. At hearings in May there was fierce debate among the Supreme Court judges over the degree to which Congress should scrutinise the president's personal records. In the New York case, they were sceptical about a Trump lawyer's argument that a president cannot be investigated while in office. This is despite the court having a 5-4 conservative majority and including two Trump appointees - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In two earlier cases over presidential power, in 1974 the Supreme Court acted unanimously in requiring President Nixon to surrender White House tapes in the Watergate scandal, and 1997 it allowed a sexual harassment lawsuit to go ahead against President Bill Clinton. Judges appointed by Mr Nixon and Mr Clinton voted against them in the cases.

2020 Hyundai i10 N-Line: warm supermini priced from £16,195 Hyundai has confirmed UK pricing and specification details for the new N-Line variant of its i10 city car, which will arrive in dealerships on 30 July 2020. The i10 is the fourth N Line model, following the i30 hatchback, i30 Fastback and Tucson. It's offered with a new turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 99bhp and 127lb ft of torque, making it the most powerful i10 variant on sale, and is priced from £16,195 - roughly £1700 more than the Premium trim package. Performance figures have also been confirmed: the N-Line will accelerate from 0-62mph in 10.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 115mph. A tweaked suspension set-up with longer rear bump stops and new rear shock absorbers mean it will likely offer different handling characteristics to the standard car, too. Inspired by the design of Hyundai's i30 N hot hatch, the i10 N-Line wears redesigned bumpers, a bespoke front grille, exclusive 16in alloy wheels and angular LED daytime running lights. It also features a rear skid plate and diffuser, along with bespoke colour options including a two-tone finish for £500 extra. Inside, it recieves an N-branded steering wheel and gear shift lever, metal pedals and upgraded seats. The standard i10 is available from £12,495 in SE trim, which replaces S as the entry point into the i10 range. Standard equipment at this level includes a DAB radio with 3.8in display, Bluetooth, air-conditioning, electric windows, leather interior trim and cruise control. SE models are powered by a 66bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and five-speed manual gearbox. Prices rise to £13,495 for the SE Connect package, which adds 15in alloys wheels, an 8in touchscreen, rear-view camera, smartphone mirroring functionality and rear speakers. SE Connect trim can also be specified with a larger 83bhp 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine and five-speed automatic gearbox. Sitting under the N-Line version is Premium trim from £14,495, with 1.2-litre automatic versions costing £15,495. An optional 'Tech Pack' is exclusive to Premium trim, and brings a wireless charging pad, enhanced navigation features and speed limit recognition. All models are equipped with standard safety features that include lane assist, high-beam assist, autonomous emergency braking, a collision warning system and Hyundai's 'eCall' emergency services response function. An optional Eco Pack adjusts gear ratios and uses 14in wheels for even greater fuel-efficiency. The 2020 i10 has been given a dynamic exterior overhaul to appeal to younger customers. Extended rear wheel arches have added 20mm to the width and the roofline has been lowered by 20mm over the outgoing model. Hyundai has extended the i10's wheelbase by 40mm, but smaller front and rear overhangs mean its overall length has only increased by 5mm. Rear passengers benefit from extra leg room, while a 252-litre boot space is one of the best in the class. Effort has been made to improve driving dynamics over the old model, with a more progressive brake pedal and more responsive steering. As with the current i10, the daytime running lights are located within the grille, which has been made wider to reflect Hyundai’s current styling. 16in alloy wheels can also be added as an option for the first time. Interior materials, connectivity features and safety systems have filtered down from the rest of the range, including the 8.0in touchscreen fitted to high-spec versions - Hyundai says this is the largest available in the segment. Hyundai’s Bluelink connected car platform can add app-controlled location tracking, live fuel prices and the ability to send navigation directions from your smartphone to the car. Production will take place at Hyundai’s factory in İzmit, Turkey alongside the i20 supermini. Back to top The possibility of a true N performance model to rival the Volkswagen Up GTI later in the car’s life has not yet been ruled out, but it's unlikely to arrive before hot N variants of the larger i20 and Kona crossover, which are set to arrive in dealerships in early 2021.

Oscars invite 819 new members including Zendaya, Awkwafina Cynthia Erivo, John David Washington, Eva Longoria, Zendaya and Awkwafina are among the 819 people who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that puts on the Oscars announced the new invitees Tuesday. If they accept, which most do, those in the new class will have voting privileges at this year's Oscars. The massive 2020 list includes a diverse swath of people from all sectors of the industry, from acting to publicity to costume design. Invited actors include Ana De Armas ("Knives Out"), Brian Tyree Henry ("If Beale Street Could Talk"), Florence Pugh ("Little Women"), Lakeith Stanfield ("Sorry to Bother You"), Beanie Feldstein ("Booksmart") and Constance Wu ("Crazy Rich Asians"). Directors like Lulu Wang ("The Farewell"), Ari Aster ("Midsommar"), Terence Davies ("The House of Mirth") and Matthew Vaughn ("Layer Cake") are also on the list. A handful of actors from this year's best picture winner "Parasite," including Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Park So-Dam and Lee Jung-Eun, were also invited to join. The Academy said that 49% of the new invitees are international and represent some 68 countries. Other notable invitees include TV mogul Ryan Murphy, who produced the documentary "A Secret Love," country singer Tim McGraw, who was in "The Blind Side" and lyricist Bernie Taupin who contributed to the Elton John biopic "Rocketman." Academy president David Rubin said that the organization is "delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travellers in the motion picture arts and sciences." Diversifying its ranks continues to be a main focus for the film academy, which in 2016 committed to doubling its female and minority membership by 2020. It has since surpassed those goals and continues to infuse membership classes with both women and people from underrepresented communities. Women make up 45% of the 2020 class and people of colour comprise 36% of the total of invitees this year. The academy has also announced a new five-year plan that includes implementing inclusion standards for nominees. "We look forward to continuing to foster an Academy that reflects the world around us in our membership, our programs, our new Museum, and in our awards," said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson in a written statement. Director Lulu Wang described herself as "very excited" to be joining the Academy. " "Though there is still much work to be done, this class looks more like an actual jury of PEERS than ever before, so that's a step in the right direction," she added. This will also be the first year that talent agent members will be able to vote on the awards. The 93rd Academy Awards are set to take place on April 25, 2021, two months later than originally planned due to COVID-19's effects on the industry.

Coronavirus in Australia: Melbourne returns to lockdown as cases surge Five million residents of the Australian city of Melbourne have been told to stay at home for six weeks, amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown after the state saw 191 new infections, its highest daily number since the pandemic began. The state's borders with its neighbours, New South Wales and South Australia, will close within hours. Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases and 106 deaths from the virus. But almost all new cases have been in Victoria. Why has Melbourne's virus outbreak worsened? Australia sends army to Victoria to fight Covid-19 "We are on the cusp of something very, very bad if we don't take these steps," Mr Andrews said. "I think a sense of complacency has crept into us as we let our frustrations get the better of us." The state had been easing restrictions before the surge in the past fortnight. It now has hundreds of active cases, while other Australian states and territories continue to report only small numbers of new infections. What are the new restrictions? People will be kept to their homes and will only be able to leave for essential reasons, such as for work, exercise and shopping for food and other necessities. Schools will largely return to distance learning and restaurants will, once again, only be permitted to serve takeaway food. However, shops and hairdressers will remain open. The measures will come into force from Wednesday. The lockdown covers only Melbourne and an area to the north called the Mitchell shire, but the state as a whole is being sealed off from the neighbouring states of New South Wales and South Australia. Police and troops will be stationed at border crossings and patrol the vast borders with drones and other aircraft. Taxing times return for Australia's second city By Frances Mao, BBC News, Sydney Two weeks ago, as the cases started to creep up again, some of the fear and unease returned for residents in Melbourne. Out of caution, people began cancelling interstate trips. Better to wait it out, said my friends who were due to visit. Surely it wouldn't get so bad again, right? Australia as a whole had been out of lockdown for over a month. We were so close to eradication - everyone could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Desperate to maintain that status, officials were also responding quickly to the outbreaks: locking down suburbs, sending in the military, boosting testing. But for the first time in Australia, community transmission appears to have gained a hold. The case numbers exploded past 100 at the weekend. Then on Tuesday, nearly 200 new cases were confirmed. The announcement didn't come until afternoon but by then most Melbourne residents knew. Sliding back into lockdown - after having tasted freedom for a few weeks - is a cruel blow. Friends have been scrambling to do their last family visits and shopping trips. A second lockdown, arguably, is even more taxing - mentally and financially. What makes it worse is the city will have to bear it alone. The rest of the country has largely eradicated or slowed the virus.

Agree you

Style vs substance: cars which might surprise you Recently I revisited the BMW Z8 for the first time since I drove it new. Such a wonderful-looking car; such a disappointment to drive. The only thing that warmed me to it was the pleasure of the naturally aspirated engine, a manual gearbox and no infotainment. You couldn’t give a Z8 away when it was nearly new, but now they’re worth a fortune. It just shows that desirability isn’t only about the driving experience; great looks can make up for wonky dynamics. Throughout history, there have been cars that look fantastic but drive like a shed. And the reverse is also true: cars that look dreadful but which are absolutely brilliant to drive. One that stands out from memory is the Nissan Primera eGT from the early 1990s. You wouldn’t call the Primera ugly, but bland it certainly was. I remember going to the late Peter Gethin’s driving school at Goodwood and was surprised to discover that it had a fleet of Primeras. I understood after a lap, because the eGT, as well as having a 150bhp engine, had an excellent chassis, thanks in part to multi-link front and rear suspension. But I can easily trump the Primera with the supreme example of the good-to-drive but appalling-on-the-eyes machine. I’m talking about the hideous Reliant Scimitar SS1. It’s hard to believe that the genius behind the Triumph Spitfire and Stag, my hero Giovanni Michelotti, designed this Reliant. The SS1 had a feeble Ford CVH powerplant, but the later SST used a 1.8-litre turbo engine from the Nissan Silvia. With 135bhp under the bonnet and well-sorted independent suspension, the SST was great to drive if you were prepared to risk your friends seeing you in it. Let’s go back to the Z8 and some other incompetent beauties. How about the Ford Capri? Fifty last year and an object of much nostalgia if you grew up in the UK in the 1970s and watched a lot of TV. Wonderful styling, especially in pre-facelift Mk1 form, that led you to believe you were about to drive a pure sports machine. It drove like a Cortina. The Capri eventually became reasonably sophisticated and was always lovable with a 3.0-litre V6 but, with a feeble Crossflow under the bonnet, it was best left parked. The Fiat Group, and especially the Alfa Romeo division, has contributed many fine-looking machines that turn out to be as dynamically able as a shopping trolley. The two Alfas that really stand out are the Brera and the 4C. The Brera is a stunning-looking coupé that’s instantly recognisable. Add to this shape one of Alfa’s fabulous V6 engines and you should have an instant classic. Unfortunately, Alfa also added a lot of weight – indeed, so much that rival engineers couldn’t understand how the Brera could weigh 1800kg. It’s also rather hard to understand how Alfa managed to make such a mess of the 4C. The ingredients were premium quality with carbonfibre prepared by Dallara. The final result, however, particularly in Spider form, is one of the most incompetent sports cars that I’ve driven. To many, the criticism of those Alfas will be sacrilege, but just to prove that there’s no xenophobia here, I will nominate a couple of home-grown beauties whose appeal fades when you start their engines. Ever since childhood, and specifically watching Daktari on the telly, I’ve loved the look of a Land Rover. Then, as an adult, I drove one. It was an ex-army Series 2 and, since then, I’ve driven all subsequent generations. All are terrible to drive unless you’re in the jungle. The snotter in high-class clothing is the Jaguar XJ220. I didn’t like the V6 engine, I didn’t like the inadequate brakes and I didn’t like the fact that it was very difficult to feel what the car was doing. I drove both an XJ220 and a F40 on the same day at Donington Park. The Ferrari was quick and focused the mind, but it was easy to feel its limits. I couldn’t feel the Jag’s and nearly lost it at huge speed through the Craner Curves. A Brit in the other camp is the MG ZS 180, created during the death throes of Rover by a hugely talented (and fast-working) team of chassis engineers. By carefully tuning the bushes, springs and dampers that were attached to the Honda-designed suspension, a dull-looking Rover 45 saloon was turned into a dynamic wonder. And with Rover’s KV6 engine, it was even brisk. These engineers did similarly clever work on the 200 and 75 to create the ZR and ZT. They were also good, but they didn’t have the strange appeal of looking as dull as a wet afternoon in Bognor Regis and didn’t drive as well as the ZS. Back to top The Peugeot 205 GTi has acquired hero status, but a car that shared its underpinings and propulsion system, the Citroën Visa GTi, has not. The 2CV, Ami and other Citroëns are quirky; the Visa is simply ugly. Which is a shame, because it’s possibly an even better car to drive than the Peugeot. I owned a 205 GTi but wouldn’t have handed over a fiver for a Visa GTi. I’m wiser now and would welcome the Citroën onto my drive. Mercedes-Benz, having given us the rock-solid and tasteful W124 E-Class, then completely lost the plot and replaced it with the W210. Quality was absent, rust was prevalent and those ghastly headlights… All the more frustrating that the E55 version, which was essentially the first of the mass-market AMG models, was a such a great car to drive. Go further back in Mercedes’ history and you’ll find cars that fall into our other category. The 1950s 190SL is a lovely looking car, the poor man’s 300SL, but drives like a worn-out taxi. Porsche has a long history of producing cars that drive wonderfully but fail the beauty contest. Going right back we have the 914 and, more specifically, the 914/6. Porsche’s project with Volkswagen could never be called attractive but was a cracking car to drive – especially the six-cylinder version. More recently, however, we have the original Panamera. I remember being at an Autocar Handling Day at Goodwood. I was in a Panamera, chasing Steve Sutcliffe, who was driving a Jaguar XFR. He had 500bhp to my 300-and-something and is a far quicker driver than me, but I was stuck to his rear bumper lap after lap. The Panamera is dynamically excellent, just like the Cayenne. But like that SUV, it’s also hideously ugly. The reigning king of the ugly-but-great brigade is today’s Honda Civic Type R. A styling mishmash, but of all the crop of super-hot hatches, this is the finest to drive. It really depends on where your priorities lie. When I was younger, I drove faster, the roads were more open and speed cameras didn’t exist, how a car drove was more important to me than its looks. Now I’m more in the other camp. That said, like most of us, when it comes to handing over money, I want a car that goes as well as it looks. The new noble? Back to top Looking into the future, I see a shortage of cars like these from both sides of the equation. The new BMW 4 Series is bound to be a brilliant car to drive, because the latest 3 Series is, but that massive front grille is obscene. In fact, BMWs in general are becoming cartoon-like. The po[CENSORED]rity of SUVs and crossovers is largely to blame, because hardly any of them are stunning to look at and very few are much cop to drive: centre of gravity is too high, whole plot feels uninvolving. If you don’t agree, sort yourself out a back-to-back test drive in a Jaguar XE and E-Pace. I can’t see Alfa Romeo doing another car like the 4C, because I doubt there will be a business case, but if it did, surely it would take more care with its dynamics. In fact, the business case for anyone doing a relatively low-volume sports car is looking wonky. There’s also the fact that very few cars are truly flawed these days. Even Morgan has got its dynamic act together so that its cars’ charming looks and the way they drive aren’t so far apart. Perhaps it’s a good thing that almost all cars drive pretty well these days, but it’s not so good that design has become so homogeneous. I miss events like driving the Noble M10 (remember that?) for the first time and being staggered that something so ugly drove better than, or at least as well as, a Lotus.

With no paparazzi or parties, Paris prepares for virtual fashion week PARIS (Reuters) - Paris is usually abuzz during its prestigious Haute Couture presentations in July, its hotels heaving with fashionistas and monuments turned into catwalk venues. A chauffeur poses next to a Mercedes-Benz luxury car of Chabe, Chauffeured Cars Services, in front of the Grand Palais in Paris, France, July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes But in a makeover caused by the coronavirus crisis, top designers will instead be experimenting next week with online showcases to try to keep clients hooked. Brands from Christian Dior to Valentino are pressing ahead with collections and shows through an organised schedule of videos running from July 6-8. That has helped keep some textile suppliers and artisans going, though other businesses are feeling the absence of a larger event keenly. “The impact of a virtual fashion week on our business is serious, because there are no more clients to drive around,” said Guillaume Connan, whose limousine company usually ferries A-listers around between shows. Paris’s multiple fashion weeks generate some 1.2 billion euros ($1.35 billion) for the local economy every year, the federation grouping couture houses estimates. At the Haute Couture week, a select club of designers display one-of-a-kind, handmade outfits. “I will miss the audience, I will miss my friends,” said couturier Stephane Rolland. But Christophe Josse, another French couturier who has also produced a film, said he had enjoyed being able to highlight the intricacies of his designs differently and would consider doing it again. “I was a little hesitant at first, wondering what we’d be able to say in a digital fashion week,” Josse said. It is still unclear whether the format will be a hit with his clients, who include wealthy Americans who would normally travel to a show, Josse added. Physical catwalk displays are likely to be back on the agenda in Paris by September and brands are already booking venues, said Frederic Hocquard, who oversees tourism and some cultural affairs at Paris’s city council. He added that the hiatus this time could have some positive side effects, despite the economic hit - including as an inspiration for greener formats in future, which would not generate as much congestion or waste. Reporting by Sarah White and Michaela Cabrera; Editing by Helen Popper

Hong Kong security law: Pro-democracy books pulled from libraries Books by pro-democracy figures have been removed from public libraries in Hong Kong in the wake of a controversial new security law. The works will be reviewed to see if they violate the new law, the authority which runs the libraries said. The legislation targets secession, subversion and terrorism with punishments of up to life in prison. Opponents say it erodes the territory's freedoms as a semi-autonomous region of China. Beijing rejects this. Hong Kong's sovereignty was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and certain rights were supposed to be guaranteed for at least 50 years under the "one country, two systems" agreement. Since the security law came into effect on Tuesday, several leading pro-democracy activists have stepped down from their roles. One of them - one-time student leader and local legislator Nathan Law - has fled the territory. At least nine books have become unavailable or marked as "under review", according to the South China Morning Post newspaper. They include books authored or co-authored by Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist, and pro-democracy politician Tanya Chan. On Saturday, Mr Wong tweeted that the new law "imposes a mainland-style censorship regime" on Hong Kong, calling it "one step away from ... actual book banning". Skip Twitter post by @joshuawongcf 1/ More than just punitive measures, the national security law also imposes a mainland-style censorship regime upon this international financial city. Although my books are published years before Hong Kong's anti-extradition movement, they are now prone to book censorship. https://t.co/2fbyvtcH95 — Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 ? (@joshuawongcf) July 4, 2020 Report End of Twitter post by @joshuawongcf Beijing has dismissed criticism of the law, saying it is necessary to stop the type of mass pro-democracy protests seen in Hong Kong during much of 2019, which at times exploded into very violent clashes between protesters and police. Why people are scared of Hong Kong's new law Minutes after new law, voices quit It has rejected complaints by the UK and other Western nations that it is in breach of guarantees it made to protect Hong Kong's unique freedoms as interference in its internal affairs. What is the security law? The law is wide-ranging, and gives Beijing powers to shape life in Hong Kong that it has never had before. The law makes inciting hatred of China's central government and Hong Kong's regional government offences. It also allows for closed-door trials, wire-tapping of suspects and the potential for suspects to be tried on the Chinese mainland. Acts including damaging public transport facilities - which often happened during the 2019 protests - can be considered terrorism. There are also concerns over online freedom as internet providers might have to hand over data if requested by police.

GM lags industry rebound as Q2 sales fall BEIJING -- General Motors Co.'s vehicle sales in China dropped 5.3 percent between April and June, underperforming the industry average amid a recovery from the coronavirus fallout in the world's biggest auto market. China's light-vehicle sales, which include passenger and commercial vehicles, rose 4.4 percent in April and 15 percent in May, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said, adding that it expects auto sales to grow 11 percent in June. GM, China's second-biggest foreign automaker after Volkswagen Group, delivered 713,600 vehicles in the country in the second quarter, the company said in a statement, after reporting a drop of 43 percent in sales in the first quarter, because of the pandemic. GM operates a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. which makes Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group that produces no-frills minivans and has started making higher-end cars. Sales of GM's mass-market brand Buick rose 7.8 percent while Chevrolet dropped 28 percent in the latest quarter. Cadillac deliveries fell 12 percent, GM said in a statement on Friday. Sales at Wuling grew 9.7 percent, while Baojun volume tumbled 31 percent.

Through the looking glass: South Korean 'augmented reality' mirror allows touchless cosmetics shopping SEOUL (Reuters) - An augmented reality (AR) mirror at the new Seoul flagship boutique of cosmetics powerhouse Amorepacific makes easy work of seeing if that scarlet shade of lipstick or long-lash mascara suits you - even if you’re wearing a face mask. The mirror takes a photograph of the customer’s face and analyses it, recommending products based on skin texture, and addressing any blemishes, wrinkles or dark circles. Customers can then see a computer-generated image of what they would look like wearing a wide range of foundations, blush, eye products and lipsticks. “Due to the coronavirus, it felt uncomfortable to test cosmetics after someone had used them,” said shopper Cho Yu-lim, 24, as she peered into the full-length mirror, which has “Find Your Makeup Look” written on it. “This is very convenient as I can see the actual colour on my face without even touching my face.” In addition to social distancing, South Korean government guidelines recommend shoppers try out cosmetics on the backs of their hands, not on their faces. “It was frustrating as I couldn’t try cosmetics on my face … but it was fun to find the product that suits me best through this AR device,” said 20-year-old student Song Da-hye after hours of testing products on her hands at other stores. South Korea has been praised how it has handled COVID-19, but Asia’s fourth-largest economy has experienced persistent outbreaks in recent weeks, mostly in the capital. To minimise human contact and limit the risk of virus spread, the shop has also put QR codes next to all products on display, so customers can check details with their mobile phones instead of talking to staff. “It took very little time and I didn’t need to talk to anyone before I made my purchases,” Cho said.

Coronavirus: Brazil's Bolsonaro waters down law requiring face masks Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro, has sanctioned a law making the use of masks in public obligatory during the coronavirus pandemic. However, he has vetoed their use in shops, churches and schools. In a social media broadcast, Mr Bolsonaro said people could have been fined for not wearing a mask at home. He has refused to acknowledge the gravity of Brazil's Covid-19 outbreak, despite it having the world's second-highest numbers of cases and deaths. The virus has infected almost 1.5 million people and killed 61,884 there since late February, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University. BBC South America correspondent Katy Watson says Jair Bolsonaro has never cared much for masks - a health recommendation that has become highly politicised, as has much of the handling of the coronavirus crisis in Brazil. Even where mask use has been made obligatory not everyone has observed the rules, and enforcement is often pretty lax, our correspondent adds. The bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies included an article saying that masks had to be worn by people in "commercial and industrial establishments, religious temples, teaching premises and also closed places where people are gathering". On Friday, Mr Bolsonaro vetoed the article, arguing that it could lead to the violation of property rights. He also vetoed another requiring the distribution of masks to the poor. Congress has 30 days to overrule the vetoes by absolute majority vote. Last month, a judge ordered the president to wear a mask in public - something he has often refused to do. However, the order was later rescinded by another court. Mr Bolsonaro has insisted that quarantine and social distancing are not necessary to combat the coronavirus and will only damage the fragile Brazilian economy. On Thursday night, bars were allowed to open in Rio de Janeiro, where more than 6,600 people have died of Covid-19. Federal Congressman David Miranda posted a photograph showing dozens of people drinking on a street in the city's Leblon district without appearing to wear masks or observe social distancing. Skip Twitter post by @davidmirandario Tragédia anunciada: ontem no Leblon a Guarda Municipal teve que dispersar pelo menos 300 pessoas que bebiam sem máscara na calçada. A decisão de Crivella de escancarar as portas do comércio vai cobrar caro, mas os maiores prejudicados não serão os moradores da Delfim Moreira! pic.twitter.com/8niH76h5n5 — David Miranda (@davidmirandario) July 3, 2020 Report End of Twitter post by @davidmirandario "A tragedy foretold," he tweeted. "[Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo] Crivella's decision to throw open the doors of business will come with a high cost." Mr Crivella's office told Reuters news agency that law enforcement personnel had asked several establishments to close on Thursday for allowing crowds to gather.

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Vehicle sales rise for third straight month as pandemic eases BEIJING -- Vehicle sales advanced for a third straight month in China, signaling that an economic rebound is gathering pace as the coronavirus pandemic gradually abates in the country. Sales of passenger cars such as sedans and utility vehicles, as well as commercial vehicles, increased 11 percent in June from a year earlier to 2.28 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Thursday in a statement, citing preliminary figures. From the preceding month, the increase was 4 percent. Customers in the world’s largest car market are slowly returning to showrooms as the government eases restrictions, adding to evidence that the auto slump in its third year may be easing. The pandemic exacerbated a decline in sales, with an economic slowdown, trade tensions with the U.S. and stricter emission standards further weighing on demand. The government added stimulus measures such as tax rebates to attract buyers, while automakers that shuttered operations amid the coronavirus outbreak now offer generous discounts. “The 11 percent growth in June estimated by CAAM should be largely driven by commercial vehicles,” said Shi Ji, an analyst with Haitong International Securities Co. in Hong Kong. “High inventory level industrywide and slower recovery for some brands could lead to widening discounts in the second half.” Global carmakers are spending billions of dollars to expand in China, and manufacturers such as Tesla Inc., General Motors and Volkswagen Group remain undeterred in their effort to tap the market’s long-term growth potential, including for electric vehicles. CAAM didn’t break out figures for commercial vehicles and passenger cars. Commercial vehicles such as light trucks have benefited from the economic recovery, which has boosted demand for deliveries. A manufacturing survey released this week points to continued improvement in both demand and supply in June. Chinese car associations are set to report the final tally for June later this month, including figures specifically for passenger cars. The year-earlier number in that category represents a tough goal to beat, as sales were boosted by heavy discounting by dealerships.