Major pilots union asks US to purchase empty seats on planes

A major US pilots union said on Wednesday it has begun discussing with key lawmakers a plan for the government to purchase seats on each flight to prevent passengers from having to sit next to strangers.

The idea, launched by the Allied Pilots Association, representing American Airlines’ 15,000 pilots, is aimed at easing a return to pre-pandemic passenger levels while creating a level playing field across the airline industry.

As of now, some but not all US airlines are blocking middle seats or capping the number of seats they are selling on each flight in order to allow for more space between passengers.

Air travel has dropped dramatically in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, APA President Eric Ferguson said uniform social distancing would encourage passengers to fly more and airlines to operate more flights, thus preserving more jobs in the critical aviation industry.

Under the plan, the price of empty seats would be based on industry average costs for 2019, and as immunity to COVID-19 rose, the number of empty seats bought by the government would fall.

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S.Korea to impose capital gains taxes for stock investments exceeding 20 mln won a yr

SEOUL, June 25 (Reuters) – South Korea’s finance minister on Thursday said the government plans to impose capital gains taxes on annual stock investment gains exceeding 20 million won ($16,587) starting 2023.

Stock transaction taxes, on the other hand, will gradually be lowered to 0.15% by 2023 from the current 0.25%, Hong Nam-ki said in a policy meeting.

The tax code revisions needs parliamentary approval, he said. ($1 = 1,205.7600 won) (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

US retailers slammed over COVID-19 operations

Internet giant Amazon and supermarket chain owner Kroger among those criticised for praising their staff as ‘heroes’ for working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Retailers in the United States have been criticised for praising their staff as “heroes” for working during the coronavirus pandemic – while at the same time ending a system in which they receive extra pay for dangerous conditions.

Unions are calling on companies such as internet giant Amazon and supermarket chain owner Kroger to reconsider.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports.

NASA Names HQ After Mary W. Jackson, Its First Black Female Engineer

NASA will name its headquarters in Washington, D.C. after Mary W. Jackson, the agency’s first Black female engineer.

“Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have helped construct NASA’s successful history to explore,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement.

Mary W. Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer, was pivotal in the hiring and promotion of women at NASA, the agency said. Her career and legacy were chronicled in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” and was portrayed by actress Janelle Monáe.

Jackson was hired into the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center, where she worked under Dorothy Vaughan.

Democrats To Scale Back Convention With Smaller Milwaukee Venue And Virtual Events

The Democratic National Convention will still take place in Milwaukee over four nights in August, but in a smaller venue and much of the programming coming virtually from around the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Vice President Joe Biden will accept the nomination for president from The Wisconsin Center, rather than the larger Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, while state delegations are being told to not to plan to travel to the city. That  raises the prospect that delegates will cast their votes remotely, although details are still being worked out.

As it stands now, the Aug. 17-20 convention will look different than the Republican National Convention scheduled a week later. The Republican National Committee recently moved part of the event to Jacksonville, FL so that they could be assured that the state or city would not try to prevent crowds from gathering to see President Donald Trump accept the party’s nomination.

“The city of Milwaukee has been an incredible partner and we are committed to highlighting Wisconsin as a key battleground state at our convention this August,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign manager. “This will be a convention for all Americans who wish to join our mission to win the battle for the soul of this nation and build a fairer, more united country for us all.”

The event also will likely be heavy in a degree of showmanship, as it has been in recent cycles. Ricky Kirschner is returning as executive producer.

Magnitude 5.9 quake strikes New Zealand's Milford Sound area

WELLINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near Milford Sound in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island on Thursday, government seismic monitor Geonet said.

Thousands of people in the area reported on Geonet to have felt the earthquake, which was very shallow at a depth of 5 kilometres (3 miles), but there were no immediate reports of damages.

New Zealand lies on the seismically active “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-km (24,855-miles) arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches girdling much of the Pacific Ocean. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Pentagon Names 20 Chinese Firms It Says Are Military-Controlled

The Pentagon put Huawei Technologies Co. and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. on a list of 20 companies it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, opening them up to potential additional U.S. sanctions.

In letters to lawmakers dated June 24, the Pentagon said it was providing a list of “Communist Chinese military companies operating in the United States.” The list was first requested in the fiscal 1999 defense policy law.

“The list put out today by the Pentagon is a start but woefully inadequate to warn the American people about the state-owned and -directed companies that support the Chinese government and Communist Party’s activities threatening U.S. economic and national security,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The list only touches the surface of the Chinese government’s exploitation of U.S. capital markets at the expense of retail investors and pensioners by omitting the networks of affiliated and subsidiary companies.”

In addition to Huawei and Hikvision, the list includes China Railway Construction Corp., China Telecommunications Corp, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. and Panda Electronics Group.