World breaking news today (June 10): Biden revokes and replaces Trump executive orders that banned TikTok
	World breaking news today (June 9): Macron slapped in the face during walkabout in southern France
	World breaking news today (June 8): Russia officially withdraws from Open Skies treaty

A replica of the Statue of Liberty is seen in front of the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris on June 2, before it departs for NYC’s Ellis Island, where it is slated to arrive on July 4. (Photo: Reuters)

France sending US a second Statue of Liberty for Independence Day

Lady Liberty’s “little sister” is coming to Ellis Island just in time for Independence Day.

The French government is sending the city a 10-foot bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, 135 years after the country first gifted the original national monument to the US, CNN reported.

The new statue — which is one-sixteenth of the size of its big sister — has been installed at the National Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris since 2011, according to the report. It’s based on an exact replica of the original statue.

The little lady will reportedly be shipped out of France next week and reach New York Harbor on July 1. After the 4th of July holiday, the statue will be housed at the French ambassador’s residence in Washington, the article said.

“The statue symbolizes freedom and the light around all the world,” Olivier Faron, general administrator of the CNAM, told CNN.

“We want to send a very simple message: Our friendship with the United States is very important, particularly at this moment. We have to conserve and defend our friendship.”

The Statue of Liberty was first conceived by a French historian in 1865 as a gift to the US following the end of the Civil War — the broken chains and shackles at her foot symbolizing the abolition of slavery.

The 225-ton statue was shipped and assembled in 1885 before being dedicated by President Grover Cleveland the next year. Within about 20 years, the copper had oxidized and turned the statue green, according to NY Post.

Asean, China pledge to exercise restraint in South China Sea, gloss over Myanmar crisis

Asean and China on Tuesday (June 8) pledged to exercise self-restraint to avoid actions that would “complicate or escalate” disputes in the South China Sea and committed to resuming negotiations on a code of conduct (COC), while glossing over the Myanmar crisis.

In a statement released a day after a special meeting of Asean and China’s foreign ministers, the countries also pledged to strengthen public health cooperation, particular in the area of vaccines.

Diplomatic sources told The Straits Times (ST) that the delay in the statement stemmed from disagreements over the language surrounding the South China Sea, which, along with the Myanmar crisis, dominated most of the discussions on Monday afternoon in the Chinese city of Chongqing.

A Chinese Coast Guard patrol ship (left) is seen near an unidentified vessel at Whitsun Reef, in the South China Sea, in a photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard on April 15, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)

This was largely due to “China and some... small Asean states”, said a senior South-east Asian diplomat who asked not to be named, referring to Cambodia and Laos.

“Enhance and promote maritime security, uphold the freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability,” said the 14-paragraph statement.

Asean and China also plan to speed up the resumption of negotiations over the COC and the talks will be conducted virtually. Previously, negotiators had said the topic was too important for discussions to be conducted online, and talks came to a standstill after the coronavirus pandemic stopped air travel.

China has sweeping claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea, but faces competing claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

In the statement, there was no mention of the crisis in Myanmar, with simply a reference to “maintaining regional peace and stability”, Straits Times said.

French court sentences man who slapped President Emmanuel Macron to 18 months in prison.

The president was reportedly slapped in the face during walkabout in southern France on Tuesday.

In a video circulating on social media, Macron reached out his hand to greet a man in a small crowd of onlookers standing behind a metal barrier as the president visited a professional training college for the hospitality industry.

The man, who was dressed in a khaki T-shirt, then shouted "Down with Macronia" ("A Bas La Macronie") and slapped Macron on the left side of his face.

He could also be heard shouting "Montjoie Saint Denis", the battle cry of the French army when the country was still a monarchy.

(Photo: Daily Times)

Two of Macron's security detail tackled the man in the T-shirt, and another ushered Macron away. The president briefly remained near the crowd, gesturing to someone on the other side of the barrier, before his security agents moved him away.

The president's office said there had been an attempt to strike Macron, but declined further comment, Reuters reported.

National Geographic recognizes a 5th ocean on Earth – the southern ocean

National Geographic says the body of water that borders Antarctica will now be labeled the Southern Ocean on its maps

National Geographic has officially recognized a fifth ocean on planet Earth.

Beginning June 8, World Oceans Day, National Geographic cartographers will acknowledge the body of water that borders Antarctica as the Southern Ocean.

“The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it,” National Geographic Society Geographer Alex Tait said in the announcement.

The lack of international agreement on the Southern Ocean remains, but National Geographic will now include labeling for the Southern Ocean on all of its maps.

(Photo: Forbes Alert)

The National Geographic Society’s map policy committee says it had considered recognizing the Southern Ocean for years as they mulled if the body of water had enough unique characteristics to separate itself from the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Indian Oceans.

The National Geographic Society, which has been making maps since 1915, hopes this change will implore people to help conserve the Southern Ocean, Market Watch said.

Gold price forecast- gold markets continue to see choppy behavior

Gold markets were very choppy to say the least, as we continue to hang around the $1900 level.

Gold markets have gone back and forth during the course of the trading session on Wednesday as we are hanging about the $1900 level. The $1900 level has caused a lot of noise, and as a result of it being a large, round, psychologically significant figure, it is also an area where a lot of people would be hanging about in order to figure out where we go next, as reported by FX Empire.

(Photo: US News and World reports)

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