Western Mail

To adapt to live leaders warn

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streamed into shopping centres, which have been closed since March.

China’s airline regulator reported that flights had returned to 60% of pre-outbreak levels, exceeding 10,000 per day for the first time since February 1. No new deaths have been reported in a month in the world’s second-largest economy, where coronaviru­s was first detected late last year.

China reported five new cases on Sunday, while South Korea recorded 13, raising hopes that a new outbreak linked to nightclubs in Seoul may be waning, even though 168 patients have been infected so far.

Meanwhile, in America, former president Barack Obama criticised some officials overseeing the coronaviru­s response, telling college graduates that the pandemic shows many “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

Mr Obama spoke on Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition, a twohour livestream­ing event for historical­ly black colleges and universiti­es broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

His remarks were surprising­ly political and touched on current events beyond the virus and its social and economic impacts.

“More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” he said.

“A lot them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

Mr Obama did not name President Donald Trump or any other federal or state officials.

As he congratula­ted graduates and commiserat­ed over the difficult world they face, the former president noted the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was killed while jogging on a residentia­l street in Georgia in February.

“Let’s be honest: A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequaliti­es and extra burdens that black communicat­es have historical­ly had to deal with in this country,” Mr Obama said.

“We see it in the disproport­ionate impact of Covid-19 on our communitie­s, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questionin­g.”

Mr Obama went on to deliver a televised prime-time commenceme­nt address for the high school Class of 2020 in which he urged the young graduates to be unafraid despite the current challenges facing the nation and to strive to be part of a diverse community.

“Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us – sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed – and set the world on a different path,” he said.

 ??  ?? Worshipper­s take part in Sunday service at a church in Metro Manila, Philippine­s
Worshipper­s take part in Sunday service at a church in Metro Manila, Philippine­s
 ??  ?? A public service message on the BT Tower in London
A public service message on the BT Tower in London
 ??  ?? The Bundesliga match between FC Koeln and FSV Mainz 05 in Cologne, Germany
The Bundesliga match between FC Koeln and FSV Mainz 05 in Cologne, Germany

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