Saudi coalition intercepts drones laden with explosives launched by Houthis

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen said on Monday it has intercepted several drones laden with explosives launched by the Iran-aligned group towards the kingdom, state news agency SPA reported, citing the coalition spokesman.

Colonel Turki al-Malki said the drones were targeting civilians, without elaborating. He said several drones were intercepted and the rest are being dealt with.

Windrush Day: The continued fight for justice

On this edition of the Sky News Daily podcast with Gillian Joseph, we examine how families of the Windrush generation continue to fight for justice.

We hear one man’s story of what he calls the ‘humiliation’ of being deemed an illegal immigrant in the country he called home for more than 50 years.

We are also joined by Kunle Olulode, Director of Voice4Change England, who talks to us about the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group designed to ‘right the wrongs’.

Malawi set for landmark presidential rerun

Malawi goes to the polls on Tuesday after last year’s elections were marred by allegations of rigging.

Malawi goes to the polls on Tuesday in a landmark presidential rerun, after last year’s elections were marred by allegations of rigging.

The results were overturned by the constitutional court which ordered a fresh vote.

Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa has this update.

Emergency Rooms See Fewer Heart Attacks, Strokes in Pandemic

Emergency-room visits by people suffering heart attacks or strokes have fallen during the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

In the early stages of the coronavirus’s spread in the U.S., federal regulators recommended that health-care systems prioritize urgent visits and delay optional care. Stay-at-home orders across the country were set in place to slow the spread of the virus and lessen the burden on care providers.

Many people experiencing symptoms not related to the virus have stayed away from hospitals as a result. But the CDC said Monday that it doesn’t want people taking the risk of dying to avoid being infected.

Some people with chronic health conditions may be avoiding seeking care for emergencies, CDC findings suggest. Between March 15 and May 23, hospitals visits related to heart attacks declined 23%, while visits related to stroke fell 20% and visits for high blood sugar decreased 10%.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.; stroke is fifth. People who experience symptoms including severe chest pain, sudden or partial loss of motor function and altered mental state should seek immediate care for the best chance of survival, the CDC said, despite the pandemic.

Trump Hasn’t Ordered Slower Coronavirus Testing, McEnany Says

President Donald Trump’s press secretary said he was joking on Saturday when he said at a rally that he had asked his administration to slow down coronavirus testing, and that he had made no such order.

“No, he has not directed that,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday at a briefing for reporters. “Any suggestion that testing has been curtailed is not rooted in fact.”

On Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while discussing the more than 25 million coronavirus tests the U.S. has performed to date, Trump remarked that “when you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people.”

“So I said to my people, slow the testing down please,” Trump said. “They test and they test. We had tests of people that don’t know what’s going on.”

Oil Futures Settle Notably Higher

Crude oil prices rose fairly sharply on Monday as traders continued to bet energy demand will increase despite reports showing a surge in new coronavirus infections in several U.S. states and in quite a few countries across the globe.

Expectations that OPEC and allies will comply with agreed output reductions and last week’s data from Baker Hughes that showed another drop in U.S. oil rig count supported oil’s uptick.

West Texas Crude oil futures contracts for July expired at $40.46 barrel, gaining $0.71 or 1.8% for the session.

The new front-month WTI Contract for August settled higher by $0.90 or 2.3% at $40.73 a barrel.

Brent crude futures moved up $0.89 or about 2.1% at $43.08 a barrel.

Oil prices edged lower earlier in the session as fears over rising coronavirus cases across the world offset signs of tighter supplies from major crude oil producers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the biggest increase from North and South America.

The WHO has warned that the pandemic is “accelerating and the world is in a new and dangerous phase.”

New York Won’t Count Absentees for a Week: Campaign Update

New Yorkers may not know the outcome of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for more than a week.

With a 10-fold increase in requests for absentee ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York State Board of Elections announced Monday that it won’t begin counting those votes until July 1 so that it can double-check county records, which means any close race will not be decided until after that.

New York has one of the lowest rate of absentee voting in the country due to strict rules. But after those were relaxed this year, about 1.8 million people requested to vote by mail in the June 23 primary.

New York residents may have to wait a week to learn the outcome of some high-profile primary face-offs, including Representative Eliot Engel’s bid to retain his seat against Jamaal Bowman, a progressive backed by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Pennsylvania residents faced a similar delay in that state’s June 2 primary due to the new popularity of mail-in ballots, leading for calls to speed up the process by processing mail-in ballots before Election Day.

Coming Up:

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for the week beginning Aug. 17 in Milwaukee, while the Republicans are slated to meet a week later with events in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida.