Portland: Protests against police brutality persist

The US Justice Department said on Thursday it would investigate the use of force by federal agents against protesters in Portland.

US federal agents sent to Portland by President Donald Trump have again fired tear gas at protesters and made arrests.

Demonstrators have rallied every night for eight weeks demanding racial equality and police reforms.

Leaders in Oregon state say the agents are only making things worse.

Al Jazeera’s Leah Harding reports.

Dakar Youth Olympic Games delayed until 2026

More than 4,000 athletes from more than 180 nations, aged 14-18, were expected to take part in the Youth Olympics.

The Youth Olympic Games were scheduled to take place in Dakar next year, but they have been moved to 2026 due to the coronavirus pandemic after an agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Senegal.

The postponement of the first Olympic event to be held in Africa comes as a setback however for many young athletes.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports from Dakar.

Russia politics: Third week of protests in Khabarovsk region

Protesters have been demanding the governor of the region, Sergei Furgal, be released from prison.

Some of the largest anti-government protests for years in Russia are into their third week.

The arrest of the governor of the Khabarovsk region in the east sparked protesters’ anger which shows no sign of subsiding.

Al Jazeera’s Katia Lopez-Hodoyan reports.

Tunisia's interior minister Hichem Mechichi named new PM

TUNIS (AFP) – Hichem Mechichi, who until now has served as Tunisia’s interior minister, has been appointed to form the next government, the president’s office said on Saturday (July 25).

The 46-year-old lawyer succeeds Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned earlier this month – but Mechichi was not one of the names proposed by the ruling political parties to President Kais Saied.

Tunisia President Names Hicham Mechichi as PM Designate

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied picked his former legal adviser to form a new government, state news agency TAP reported.

The 46-year old Hichem Mechichi held the interior ministry in the outgoing government of Elyes Fakhfakh.

Fakhfakh resigned last week after almost half of parliament’s lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion in his rule amid a showdown with a moderate Islamist party that’s the biggest in the assembly.

L.A. County Reports 53 New Deaths and 3,628 More COVID-19 Cases

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Saturday that 53 more people died from coronavirus overnight, with 3,628 new cases reported. Across all areas of L.A. County, it brings the total to 172,325 cases and 4,351 deaths since the outbreak began.

The L.A. Department of Public Health stated that part of the high number of cases are due to an inclusion of backlogged system results.

A larger trend is emerging where younger people are comprising a larger portion of those infected. 76% of new cases occurred in people under 50 years old of which 54% of new cases were under the age of 30.

Los Angeles County is seeing a 10% positivity rate among the 1.6 million individuals tested.

Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer emphasized that it is too early to return to normalcy and larger social functions. “We need to commit to the behaviors that we know will reduce our infection rate and slow the spread of the virus. In order to stay safe, we need to continue wearing face coverings, avoiding gatherings with people we don’t live with. … and keep physical distance from others” said Dr. Ferrer.

Queen Elizabeth II Joins Virtual Unveiling of Portrait

London (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has joined in the virtual unveiling of a new portrait commissioned by Britain’s Foreign Office to honor her services to diplomacy.

The portrait of the monarch by Miriam Escofet is meant to pay tribute to the queen’s work in promoting U.K. interests all over the world.

The queen saw the painting on her computer screen, and observed that a tea cup in the portrait lacked a key ingredient: tea. Escofet told the monarch that she had included the insignia of the FCO on the cup.

“She seemed to react very positively to it,’’ Escofet said. “She was smiling, asking how long it took and if I had any more projects on the go after this.’’

The unveiling took place during a virtual visit in which the monarch was told about how the Foreign Office handled the shock wave of the coronavirus pandemic and brought thousands of British tourists home from far-flung travels.

North Korea Locks Down City After Suspected Virus Case: KCNA

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered a city near its border with South Korea locked down after it found a person who may be infected with the coronavirus, KCNA reported.

Kim took the “preemptive measure” of isolating Kaesong City on Friday following the report on the suspected case, KCNA said.

The person had illegally returned to North Korea on July 19, the state media said, prompting the government to launch a probe on the military unit responsible for the illegal crossing with plans to “administer a severe punishment.”

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U.S. Escalates Pressure Over Nord Stream 2, Welt am Sonntag Says

The U.S. is increasing diplomatic pressure on European contractors to drop out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, Welt am Sonntag reported.

A dozen U.S. officials from three government departments held one-on-one video conferences in recent days with European contractors to underline their aim to stop the pipeline from Russia to Germany, the German newspaper said, without citing anyone.

The almost 10 billion-euro ($11.7 billion) Nord Stream 2 project is being financed by companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Germany’s Uniper SE, Wintershall AG and France’s Engie SA. Allseas Group SA is helping to expand the TurkStream link.

Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream were singled out in updated U.S. government guidance issued last week on rules limiting business with Russia. The guidance broadens the scope of possible sanctions by spelling out that they could be more widely applied than previously understood.

“Get out now or risk the consequences,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on July 15, referring to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Russia will develop a new strategy for completion of the project if the U.S. imposes further sanctions on the planned pipeline, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.