Police launch search for mayor of Seoul following report he went missing

SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korean police said on Thursday (July 9) they are searching for the mayor of Seoul, Mr Park Won-soon, after his daughter reported him missing.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said officers were searching for him around Sungbuk-dong, a district in northern Seoul, where his phone signal was last detected.

His daughter reported him missing at 5.17pm and said his phone was off, the police said.

Mr Park, who has been the mayor of Seoul since 2011, is seen as a potential presidential hopeful for the liberals in the 2022 presidential elections.

UK announces $37bn budget to revive economy

It is aimed at saving jobs and pumping new life into an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Kingdom government has announced a $37bn mini-budget.

It is aimed at saving jobs and pumping new life into an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull reports from Bognor Regis in West Sussex, UK.

Boots to cut 4,000 jobs blaming ‘significant impact’ of coronavirus

High street chain Boots is planning to cut more than 4,000 jobs in a shake-up prompted by the “significant impact” of COVID-19.

The move will affect around 7% of the pharmacy retailer’s workforce and particularly affect staff at its Nottingham support office.

Google shuts down cloud project, says no plan to offer cloud services in China

Google to pay publishers for news content

Google will start paying for some news content after complaints from publishers. FOX Business’ Susan Li with more.

Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday it has shut down its cloud project named “Isolated Region” and added that it was not weighing options to offer its cloud platform in China.

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Earlier in the day, Bloomberg News reported, citing two employees, that Google had shelved the project in China and other politically sensitive countries in May, partly due to rising geopolitical tensions and the pandemic.

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, GOOGLE FACE FREE SPEECH TEST IN HONG KONG

The search engine giant, however, said that the project’s shutdown was not due to either of those two reasons and that it has not offered cloud platform services in China.

“Isolated Region” was just one of the paths explored by the company to address requirements related to adoption of cloud technology, a company spokesperson said.

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The project aimed to provide cloud services to customers and regulatory bodies around the world.

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Gold Edges Up As US-China Tensions Heat Up

Gold prices were flat to slightly higher on Thursday as virus worries persisted and relations between the United States and China continued to deteriorate.

Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,813.32 per ounce, after rising to its highest level since September 2011 at $1,817.71 on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,822.70 per ounce.

With Covid-19 cases on the rise in 42 states across the United States, investors fear that re-imposition of lockdown measures will hold back any sustained economic recovery.

The United States reported more than 60,000 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest increase ever reported by a country in a single day.

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday suggested the U.S. recovery may be stalling, raising doubts about its durability.

Meanwhile, the United States is preparing to take additional actions against China, the White House has said, without giving further details.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the president on what our actions on China will be, but you will be hearing about some upcoming actions that pertain to China. So, I can confirm that,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

Recently, the U.S. deployed two aircraft carriers in the South China Sea with a clear message to Beijing that it doesn’t welcome China’s belligerence with its neighbors.

Chinese Foreign Ministry, in response, accused the U.S. of trying to create a rift between the regional countries.

Kellyanne Conway’s ‘Creepy’ Comments Get Turned Against Trump In Biting New Ad

Kellyanne Conway’s recent attack on Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden just received a makeover that turns it back on President Donald Trump. 

Conway, who is counselor to the president, said Biden had made “a lot of really creepy statements” and some of those statements “make me very uncomfortable.”

A new video from the progressive PAC MeidasTouch combined her comments with footage of some of Trump’s creepier moments: 

“Donald Trump is a disgusting and creepy individual whose predatory behavior is well-documented,” the organization said in a statement released with the video. “Trump and his crumbling regime of scoundrels and liars seek [to] use the label on others, but there is no one creepier than Donald Trump.” 

The group called Trump “the creepiest and most disgusting man alive” and posted the video with the #CreepyTrump hashtag.

MeidasTouch was founded by Ben Meiselas and his two brothers. Meiselas is the attorney who represented former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his settlement with the NFL.