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An opportunity for cities to grasp today for healthier living in cities with less traffic, fewer automobiles and more bicycle lanes. Cleaner cities with less air pollution and calmer cities to live and work in.

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The calm and quiet experienced in gardens during coronavirus and lockdowns is one of the positive aspects of this period.

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During the period of lockdown there were some positive changes and people are now looking at how some of these positive changes can be preserved. Drastically cut air pollution and the impact on health is one of these positive changes. People with difficulty breathing in the pollutants in the air had symptoms relieved and now dread going back to the pollution levels they had to get used to. For some lockdown has even given them a break from illness. Many people who experienced the clean air and calm of this period of the virus  are now asking how this can be preserved. In cities like Birmingham polluted air is known to reduce lifespans by 7 months for children. In the UK this is particularly true of the Midlands region with its road and air traffic industries, where there is a nostalgia for the calm people had from the experience of living and working from home. The stresses of capitalism and the rush and pace of life being muted for a while, and a bigger focus on the collective wellbeing and the community. In London and other parts of the UK there is the national debate on how one can continue to make the intelligent choices in the way we live and in the tradeoffs between health and wealth.    ...

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Spain lifts its state of emergency and reopens it borders after 13 weeks o coronavirus with 28,000 dead and 245,000 cases. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez said "we can all be a wall against the virus or the means of its transmission. It depends on each and every one of us." He said the government was building up its strategic reserve of essential products to cope with any potential second wave. Masks will continue to be mandatory in public spaces when physical distancing of 1.5 metres is not possible.

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U.S. president Trump says in this interview with Michael Bender of WSJ about the international spread of the coronavirus- "there is a chance it was intentional." He said he did not think China would do that "but you never know, but it has had an impact."

He also said that he would like to think there was not systematic racism, but unfortunately there is some. 

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France and Germany support the EU coronavirus rescue package of 750 billion euros with 500 billion euros in grants to struggling businesses. Four countries- Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Netherlands- which supported the austerity policies that hurt working families in Europe for a decade after the financial crisis of 2009, do not support grants and instead call for loans to be made. This time Germany has swung over to the French side and southern European countries such as Italy and Spain that suffered badly from the virus. Without solidarity in such a situation the EU concept becomes meaningless and Merkel says these countries that oppose common borrowing do not understand the gravity of the crisis facing Europe's economies after the virus. 

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Germany's chancellor gives her support to French president Macron's call for agreement before the summer holidays on a 750 billion euro rescue package. Merkel told 27 leaders of EU countries Europe faces "very, very difficult times" and even said that she was not sure the gravity of the situation was truly understood. The value of the economies of some states could drop by 10% in 2020.

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India says China carefully prepared an attack on Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley mountain ridges, at Ladakh's border with China. 20 Indian soldiers were killed and 76 injured. This report in the Guardian shows satellite images of the Galwan Valley taken by Planet Labs, an imaging company. The images show that days before the clash there was increased activity on the Chinese side, including the damming of a river and the movement of troops and machinery close to the disputed and poorly demarcated border. Australian Strategic Policy Institute says its analysis of satellite images shows PLA Chinese forces regularly crossing into Indian territory temporarily on routine patrol routes. Indian officials also say commanders from both sides met on 13 June and agreed to each retreat back 2 kilometres in the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake area. For unknown reasons Chinese troops instead of retreating as agreed erected a tent on disputed territory close to Patrolling Point 14. India's 16 Bihar Regiment led by Col Santosh Babu, dismantled the structure in an attempt to push back the PLA troops. According to accounts given to the Hindu newspaper cited here in the Guardian, Babu and his troops later went to the Chinese side to challenge the refusal to retreat, they were ambushed by Chinese forces on the steep mountain precipice. Chinese PLA troops allegedly unblocked the dammed river, releasing a rush of water to destabilise Indian soldiers, and attacked with stones and makeshift spiked weapons. ...