Backpacks and school supply distribution bring sense of normalcy for kids in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, US: In an effort to start the new school year with some sense of normalcy during the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of backpacks with school supplies were distributed on Friday in Los Angeles to low income families.

"A new backpack for so many kids, that's the tradition, that's the routine they're used to. And one of the challenges in managing our fear and anxiety during a time like this, is to maintain our routines and establish new routines," said Richard Seidman, Chief Medical Officer for L.A. Care Health. 43-year-old Octavia Reyes became emotional when she received the school supplies and a box of fresh fruit. Reyes shares her home with six family members, with only two of them currently holding down jobs.

"We really need this because my husband doesn't have a job. This is a lot of help for us. I'm very grateful for all the people that have helped us, we really need this," said Reyes. The line of cars waiting for a donation extended outside of the large parking lot to the heavily trafficked street near downtown Los Angeles.

Connie Arzate was part of the large car caravan, accompanied by her husband and two children. Since the pandemic started, it has been tough for her family to make ends meet. "There is hardly any work. We're wondering if next month we're going to have enough money to pay our rent, our bills, it's tough," said Arzate.

Most schools in California will start the new school year with remote learning. Michael is a father to two kids and says he can't wait for the day when they can go back to school in person. "I like whatever the normal was. I think the kids need social activity. They need to interact with more people. I mean, just imagine, they're together 24-hours a day. They're on each other's throats."

California: boarding school to hold classes outdoors for social distancing

California, US: Students at a small boarding school in Southern California received an unusual set of instructions this summer: return to campus in the fall armed with a portable chair, a sun hat and sunscreen, ready for outdoor classes to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.

This might not be too big a stretch at Midland School, where students learn by experience in a classroom with only three walls, grow much of their food and heat showers by lighting a fire.

Holding classes outdoors is just one way Midland is preparing to bring its roughly 85 students back to campus in the fall. The school hopes testing will be available for all students before they return and has asked that they quarantine as much as possible before arriving at the 2,860-acre campus in Los Olivos, inland from Santa Barbara.

"It's very exciting and very daunting, but it plays to our strengths to be place-based, to be teaching outside, to be engaging with students experientially, to be taking a challenging moment and weaving that in to the curriculum and the student experience," Head of School Christopher Barnes said. Barnes initially had expected students to return to campus in late August, but delayed Midland's in-person start date to mid-September after California Governor Gavin Newsom barred counties with rising cases, including Santa Barbara, from opening schools.

Once the county is off the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days, schools can start in-person instruction, Newsom said. Barnes is prepared to further delay the semester or hold classes online if necessary, but said he hopes that virus numbers will decline and that Santa Barbara will be taken off the watch list.

He recognizes that Midland, where full tuition for the next school year is over $62,000, is in a privileged position compared to other schools, particularly public ones. Though almost half of Midland students receive financial aid, the resources available per student and a 4:1 student-faculty ratio translates into academic and health benefits for students, Barnes said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for schools to re-open in the fall, a move he sees as key to economic recovery and a way to boost to his re-election chances in November. But the Los Angeles and San Diego unified school districts, citing "skyrocketing" coronavirus infection rates in California, announced plans on July 13 to resume instruction in August with online teaching only.

Barnes hopes the small residential environment on the large campus at Midland will help the school to create a coronavirus-free bubble if students return, though he acknowledged that the boarding school environment, where students often eat three meals a day together and share bathrooms, poses unique challenges in the event of an outbreak.

Unlike many boarding schools in the U.S., which have a mix of day students and boarders, all of the students at Midland and over half of the faculty live on campus. Roommates, who live in pairs in cabins, would become de facto family members for the purposes of social distancing and mask wearing, Barnes said.

And students would be asked not to travel from campus before the winter break in December, with the school having canceled the usual October break. Parents would be able to visit campus to see their child and hike, but will be limited from going inside cabins and other areas.

Raymond Carr, an incoming Midland senior, recognizes that his final year in school may not look the way he hoped, but is looking forward to taking advantage of the 35 miles of hiking trails on campus that faculty and others have been busy widening over the summer to allow for hiking six feet apart.

"I'm really looking forward to going back to Midland in person, hopefully, because it's just one of my favorite places ever. It really changed my life going there and made me a way better student and appreciate nature so much more than I did before," Carr said

All-female crew embarks on Black Sea patrol in first for Russian Navy

Sevastopol: In a first for the Russian Navy, an all-female navy crew carried out patrols on the Black Sea on Friday in preparation for Russia's Navy Day celebrations later this month.

The crew, on board a patrol boat, fulfilled a broad array of drills on their maiden voyage, simulating how they would react to an incursion by saboteurs including by tossing RGD-5 hand grenades into the sea. "I decided to become a member of the crew because it's very interesting," said Olga Chelkova, a senior engine mechanic. "It's promising and, most of all, it's an experiment that women have never taken part in before." The voyage marks a symbolic step in Russian women's quest to play a more active role in the armed forces, an institution dominated by men.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv wants Russia to hand it back. The navy still holds barriers to entry for women. A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2000 lists 456 jobs in 38 industries which women are barred from doing because they would entail "heavy work and work in harmful working conditions".

The role of captain is not on the list but seaman is, and serving a seaman's apprenticeship is standard practice for male cadets and a necessary step to take on a command role. The Russian government plans next year to shorten the list of jobs women are barred from holding.

Thousands of protesters demanding new elections, constitution in Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand: Thousands of protesters demanding sweeping political reforms gathered around Bangkok's Democracy Monument on Saturday in the largest demonstration since a state of emergency was declared in March to hinder the spread of COVID-19.

Even though epidemic prevention measures are in place, rally leaders say they are not going to back down and organize more gatherings if their demands are not met. University students and young professionals were the people who voted for change in elections last year, only to see the pro-democracy party dissolved in early February.

They are becoming more and more dissatisfied as laws continue to be limit what the people can say and do, and throughout the day, designated speakers made the crowd's demands clear: the dissolution of parliament, changes in leadership and constitutional reform. Scuffles did break out as police attempted to fence protesters in and get them away from the monument, but demonstrators were able to use their greater numbers to push back. Other reported instances were allegedly between protesters and suspected plain-clothes police thought to be attempting to sabotage the rallies.

Protesters also held up posters showing dissidents who've disappeared in recent years to shine a light upon voices being silenced. "I want the government to be dissolved. Also, there are a lot of people criticizing the government and they are not safe, but it should be their right as a Thai citizen," said a protester.

"We want to have a full democracy here. The one that we can criticize our leader, and we can like examine them, we can like evaluate them, and we can talk about like 'ah, this is correct or not correct', or something. So I think that's our goal," said another protester. The protests were streamed live on social media, so that anyone who could not make it could still participate.

Israeli Police used water canons to disperse demonstrators around to PM Netanyahu's residence

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem: Israeli Police used water canons to disperse demonstrators around to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on Saturday July 18, as protests mounted against him over alleged corruption and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Hit by high unemployment, a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and reimposed coronavirus curbs, Israelis have taken to the streets in almost daily demonstrations against the government. Public anger has been compounded by corruption alleged against Netanyahu, who went on trial in May for bribery, fraud and breach of trust - charges which he denies.

In Jerusalem, hundreds gathered outside the prime minister's residence and then marched through the streets, calling for Netanyahu's resignation as police used water cannons to disperse the crowds. At least two people were arrested, police said. In Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, thousands gathered at a rally by the beach, demanding better state aid to businesses hurt by covid-19 restrictions and to people who have lost their jobs or have been put on unpaid leave. Unemployment presently stands at 21%. A poll by the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute on Tuesday found only 29.5% of the public trust Netanyahu's handling of the crisis.

Netanyahu has announced numerous economic aid packages, some of which have been slow to come through and others that have drawn criticism for being ineffective. Israel, with a population of 9 million, has reported almost 50,000 coronavirus cases and 400 deaths.

'My kids are not guinea pigs': Los Angeles parent supports remote learning

Los Angeles, US: When Brenda Del Hierro realized her two children would be learning remotely in the fall, she was relieved. Even though she wanted them to go back to classrooms so she could resume her normal life, Brenda believes the risk of catching coronavirus is too great.

"I mean, I was excited for them to go back so I can go back to my normal life as well. But I mean, the risk outweighs everything. I can't risk my kids getting sick or possibly getting somebody else sick or their teachers or vice versa. It's not ideal to have them home, but it's what needs to happen. And I'm so thankful that that was the outcome."she said on Wednesday. Brenda was concerned they might bring the virus home to her mother in law, a breast cancer survivor who lives with the family in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. 

After weeks of online learning in the spring, the 33-year-old homemaker is hoping for greater communication with teachers and other parents in the fall. She says one of the biggest challenges of home-schooling is keeping her 8-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter engaged.

"My daughter's easier, a little bit easier to motivate, she self-motivates herself, and for my son, it's harder to keep him just engaged. He suffers from ADHD. So, it's he's constantly losing track of what he's doing, or he gets distracted by the littlest thing or a sound from outside or whatever it may be." Del Hierro said she's bothered by the President Trump mandating for all schools in the country to open in the fall.

"I think he should really let the, let schools figure out what they need to do, and he should focus on himself and focus on running other things instead of worrying about the school districts. Everybody's need is different, and for him to really say, hey, schools, you know, teachers are irresponsible. They need to go back to school." said Del Hierro. "But my kids are not guinea pigs. I'm not going to send my kid to school to see if they're going to get COVID and to see if they're going to survive COVID. It's unfair to put that risk on our kids."

Del Hierro said she understands the social aspect of being at school physically, but prefers to have her children home until the school provides a plan for a safe return. Her 10-year-old daughter, Emma, says the school workload at home can be stressful, but thinks it will get improve in the fall.

"I feel like we get more work here than at school because it's not like something where we just go. And if we don't finish our work that time or that day, then we started out the next day," said Emma.