Daily Archives: June 1, 2020

On Thursday, Dave Matthews returned to Pay It Forward Live, Verizons entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, for a second live-streamed concert following the series kick-off with Matthews on March 26. While he spoke about the importance of mask-wearing and gave shoutouts to some of his favorite small businesses in Charlottesville, Va. (including Bodos Bagels, Market Street Wine Shop and Local Food Hub), he also went off-script to speak out about George Floyd a 46-year-old black man who died on May 25 after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for at least seven minutes while he was handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground. Floyds shocking killing has sparked national protests (some of which have turned violent, and worsened on Thursday evening) and has re-sparked national conversations about racism and police brutality.

Ive been wondering if I should say something but I just have to get it off my chest, because if I don't, when I was growing up a Quaker, if you are moved to speak, then you have to say something, or else it's going to block everything, Matthews stated at the start of his hour-long home concert.

George Floyd is one name that has been in my mind the last few days, and there are peaceful protests and there's some rioting and there's a lot of angry people, Matthews began. But all of this that's coming right now started, we have to remember, with excessive force, lethal force, against a man who was handcuffed on the ground and had the life crushed out of him. He had someone kneeling on his throat and he was killed in broad daylight, unnecessarily completely unnecessarily, from what I can see, because if youve got someone handcuffed and youve got them on the ground, you don't need to crush them.

Anyway, I know this is not the occasion for it, but I just want to say, that's where it started. That's where it started again. What happens every time some violence unjustifiably is committed in a dismissive fashion against people, and all too often in this country against African-American men it sets the possibility of a good future back. But we have to remember that this anger and this frustration comes from this act of police brutality. This is what starts the anger. This is what breaks windows. This is what breaks property. This is what is frustrating. Whether [or not] it's peaceful, this anger is justified.

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And when I hear young people, young African-American men, talking about this and talking about why they feel threatened, it's because they are. It's because it's justified. One part of a population of a country that claims to be free and believe in freedom, one part of that population should not live in fear of the authorities, no matter who they are. They live in fear because the color of their skin. It is unjustifiable. It is shameful. And that's all I'm going to say. It is shameful.

Matthews got back to the music after saying what was on his mind, but at the end of his Pay It Forward Live concert, which included Dave Matthews Band classics like Satellite, Crush and What Would You Say, he thanked viewers for paying attention during the shows dark moments as well as its lighter or goofier ones. His entire concert can be viewed here for one week.

Matthews was the final headliner for Pay It Forward Live. Other exclusive concerts in the series have included Alicia Keys, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, Luke Bryan, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Janelle Mone, Chance the Rapper, and Usher. Details about how Pay It Forward Live will evolve this summer, as Verizon continues to support and provide resources for the small business community, will be announced soon.

Over the course of Pay It Forward Live, viewers have been encouraged to do what they can to support local businesses in their own communities by shopping online, buying a gift card to be used when businesses reopen or ordering a meal. Verizon has donated $10, up to $2.5 million, to support small businesses for each use of the hashtag #PayItForwardLive in addition to its existing pledge of $7.5 million. More information can be found at Verizon.com/PayItForwardLive.

Verizon is the parent company of Yahoo.

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC and WHOs resource guides.

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Dave Matthews speaks out during live-stream about George Floyd and police brutality: 'It is shameful' - Yahoo Entertainment

Zion Williamson has requested a protective order against an inquiry by his former marketing agent into illegal benefits he allegedly received at Duke, according to Daniel Wallach of The Athletic.

In the filing for the order, Williamsons legal team called the requests from Gina Ford invasive and irrelevant.

The legal back-and-forth is part of dueling lawsuits between Williamson and the marketing agent he reportedly once signed a deal with before backing out.

Ford, the president of Prime Marketing Sports, has alleged Williamson signed a five-year deal for her company to represent him in marketing negotiations days after he declared for the 2019 NBA draft. A month later, an email was reportedly sent to Ford saying the agreement had been canceled after he signed with mega-agency CAA Sports.

The lawsuit against Williamson is seeking $100 million.

Williamsons legal defense has been multi-faceted. He has claimed that Ford fraudulently exaggerated her credentials while pursuing him as a client and pointed to Prime Sports not being certified by the National Basketball Players Association or considered a registered agent in North Carolina or Florida.

The Zion Williamson legal battle remains ugly. (AP Photo/Rusty Costanza)

Where Fords request for Williamsons illegal benefit admission comes in is the stars contention that she failed to include a line in bold letters starting he would lose his college eligibility if he signed, as required by North Carolina law.

By requesting Williamson admit his family members received illegal benefits while he was an amateur, Ford is likely contending that Williamson was well aware his days as an amateur were over. While Williamson had declared for the draft when he signed for her, he still could have supposedly returned to school according to NCAA rules.

Whether or not a judge decides Williamson shouldnt have to face questions about those benefits could play a major part in where the legal battle goes from here.

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One of the coldest regions on Earth has been experiencing a record-breaking heat wave in recent weeks amid growing fears about devastating wildfires and melting permafrost.

Khatanga, a town in Siberias Arctic Circle, registered highs of over 80 degrees Fahrenheit this week, according to Accuweather, far above the 59 degrees F historical average, as the whole of western Siberia basked in unseasonable warmth.

While locals flocked to popular spots to sunbathe, experts sounded alarms about the possible implications for the regions wildfire season this summer, with some blazes already breaking out in recent months.

Fires burned huge areas in the region last year and, at its peak, smoke engulfed an area larger than the whole European Union, the World Meteorological Organization reported.

It is very much possible that this year, we will have another fire catastrophe in Siberia, Anton Beneslavskiy, a wildfire expert with Greenpeace Russia, said.

Catastrophes became the new business as usual for Siberia in the last 20 years, he added.

From January to April, Russia was 11 degrees F warmer than average, according to the climate science nonprofit Berkeley Earth.

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That's not only a new record anomaly for Russia. That's the largest January to April anomaly ever seen in any country's national average, Robert Rohde, Berkeley Earth lead scientist tweeted.

The pace of global warming in Russia is over twice as fast as the global average, Russia's deputy U.N. envoy said last year. But the situation in the Arctic is even more stark with the region warming at over three times the global average.

Much of the Arctic region is covered by permafrost carbon rich soil that should remain frozen throughout the year and rapid warming is causing it to melt, said Thomas Smith, an assistant professor of environmental geography at the London School of Economics.

Permafrost, he said, stores vast amounts of carbon, which means that when it melts, planet-warming greenhouse gasses are emitted.

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That can further drive climate change and global warming, he said.

The second problem is that if the land is thawed out, and if it dries out with these high temperatures, then that soil is actually available to burn as a fuel for a fire, he added.

These fires that emit greenhouse gases can smolder for weeks or months, even when it has rained, Smith said.

The unusual heat has also disrupted a number of natural cycles, according to the Siberian Times, with river ice breaking, blooms coming earlier and insects emerging earlier than normal.

While temperatures in the region have temporarily dropped, the heat is forecast to return next week.

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One of the coldest places on Earth is experiencing a record-breaking heat wave - Yahoo News

Walmart (WMT) joins a growing list of retailers whose stores have been vandalized and looted amidst the George Floyd protests sweeping the U.S.

A Walmart spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that more than a dozen stores across the country have sustained damage from the violence (seen below, as an example). Several hotspots for the store damage include Minnesota and Dallas, says the spokesperson. Walmart operates more than 5,300 stores in the U.S., including 81 in Minnesota where the protests have been the most intense following the death of Floyd at the hands of a police officer.

The conditions on the ground at some stores led Walmart to close several hundred stores about one hour early on Sunday, the spokesperson added, so employees could return home safely. The majority of these stores are slated to reopen on Monday, provided its safe to do so.

Walmart rival Target has also been hit hard by protests and looting, forcing it to take action as well. The discount retailer closed or adjusted hours at 200 stores over the weekend, a spokesperson told Yahoo Finance via email. Target operates 1,900 stores across the U.S, including 73 in Minnesota.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Walmart stores suffer damage from George Floyd protests and looting several hundred forced to close early - Yahoo Finance

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken join NASAs exclusive inner circle by catching a ride on a SpaceX rocket and capsule.

Its only the fifth time that NASA has put people aboard a brand new spacecraft line for liftoff. And its the first time the spacecraft belongs to a for-profit company in charge of the launch.

Their destination is the International Space Station, where theyll spend one to four months before guiding their capsule to a splashdown in the Atlantic.

Meet NASAs first commercial crew:

DOUG HURLEY, spacecraft commander:

The retired Marine colonel and former fighter pilot flew on NASAs last space shuttle flight in 2011, closing out a 30-year era. He was tapped in 2015 as one of four NASA astronauts assigned to fly the first commercial crew capsules under development by SpaceX and Boeing. He drew the SpaceX Dragon.

Hurley, 53, served as pilot on both of his shuttle missions, the No. 2 spot. Hes now serving as spacecraft commander, overseeing the most dangerous parts of the Dragons flight: launch, reentry and ocean recovery.

He grew up in Apalachin, New York, and, after earning an engineering degree, devoted his career to the Marines and attended test pilot school. NASA chose him as an astronaut in 2000.

Wife Karen Nyberg, a former space station resident, retired two months ago from NASA. She, too, was a member of the Astronaut Class of 2000. Their son, Jack, is 10.

BOB BEHNKEN, joint operations commander:

The Air Force colonel and former flight test engineer has six spacewalks to his credit and may rack up more during his space station stay. As joint operations commander, he'll oversee the Dragons rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. Hell also manage many of the activities while the capsule is there, including any possible spacewalks for station maintenance.

While growing up in St. Ann, Missouri, Behnken was mesmerized by photos of Jupiter and Saturn streaming from NASAs Voyager spacecraft. He studied physics and mechanical engineering in college, earning a doctorate in the latter.

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Behnken had risen to chief astronaut after a pair of shuttle flights when, in 2015, he was assigned to one of the first commercial crew flights. He teamed up with Hurley in 2018 on the SpaceX Dragon.

Behnken was also in the Astronaut Class of 2000. And also like Hurley, he married a fellow classmate: astronaut Megan McArthur, who flew on NASAs final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Their son, Theodore, is 6.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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By Kate Abnett and Arno Schuetze

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union urged the United States on Saturday to reconsider its decision to cut ties with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In the face of this global threat, now is the time for enhanced cooperation and common solutions. Actions that weaken international results must be avoided," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said in a statement.

"In this context, we urge the U.S. to reconsider its announced decision," they said a day after President Donald Trump announced the move, accusing the U.N. agency of becoming a puppet of China.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also condemned the move and pledged intensive talks with Washington on the issue.

The decision is "the wrong signal at the wrong time," Maas told German media group Funke. With the number of infections continuing to rise globally, "we cannot tear down the dike in the middle of a storm", he said.

The EU has led calls for a review of the international response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the U.N. agency's performance.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has defended the agency against fierce criticism by Trump, has promised a review of its performance after the pandemic eases.

Trump last month halted funding for the 194-member organization, then in a May 18 letter gave the WHO 30 days to commit to reforms.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump said Chinese officials pressured the WHO to "mislead the world".

The move to quit the Geneva-based body comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the coronavirus outbreak. The virus first emerged in China's Wuhan city late last year.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Arno Schuetze; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Mike Harrison)

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New estimates of the number of asymptomatic people with the coronavirus suggest that "silent" COVID-19 is much more prevalent than once thought, according to two studies published Wednesday.

The first study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that 42 percent of cases from a group of people in Wuhan, China, were asymptomatic. The second study, published in Thorax, found much higher rates of asymptomatic individuals: 81 percent of cases on a cruise to Antarctica.

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The study from Wuhan looked at 78 patients who tested positive for COVID-19, and found that 33 of the individuals had no symptoms of the illness. These patients were more likely to be women, and more likely to be younger, in their 20s, 30s and early 40s.

Meanwhile, the second study, from Australian researchers, looked at 217 people on a cruise bound for Antarctica. The ship set sail in mid-March, just after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic.

The first fever on board was reported eight days into the voyage. Over the following two weeks, eight people had to be evacuated from the ship because they fell ill.

All of the 217 people who remained on board were tested for COVID-19. More than half (59 percent) tested positive, but just 19 percent of those patients had symptoms. The other 81 percent were symptom-free.

"Many people still haven't grasped the notion that asymptomatic people can be so common, and they wonder why it is they have to wear the mask when they're feeling well, or why they have to keep doing this social distancing stuff," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said.

"Simply exhaling can send out viral particles," said Schaffner, who wasn't involved with either study.

That's why the CDC encourages everyone to wear face coverings or masks in public to help prevent the spread of the virus. The agency's estimate of the prevalence of asymptomatic cases, based on mathematical modeling, is lower, at 35 percent.

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There was one positive finding, however, from the study in China: Asymptomatic individuals may not spread the virus for as long as symptomatic patients do. The patients without symptoms shed the virus for about eight days, compared with 19 days among those who did have symptoms, the researchers, from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, found.

Still, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases remain a concern.

"This is very important because, theoretically, you can spread the infection when you're shedding the virus because it's so highly contagious," Dr. Aditya Shah, an infectious disease fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said.

Though COVID-19 has proven it has the ability to sicken anyone at any age, people over age 65 and those with underlying chronic health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, appear to be most vulnerable.

"I don't know of a single person, no matter how independently-minded they are, who has any desire to give this virus to anyone else," Schaffner said. "But they have to recognize that they could."

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Asymptomatic COVID-19 cases may be more common than suspected - Yahoo News

The sports void is real.

Those figuring out how to fill it are reaping the rewards.

After ESPN announced record viewership numbers for its 10-part Michael Jordan series The Last Dance, Turner Sports recorded similar ratings for a golf exhibition.

The network group announced on Monday that Sundays airing of The Match drew an average of 5.8 million viewers, rivaling ratings recorded by The Last Dance, the most-watched documentary in ESPN history. At its peak, 6.3 million people tuned in.

Those ratings set a record for a cable golf telecast, according to Turner Sports. That means more people tuned in to watch Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady play for charity than have ever watched an early round cable broadcast of a major.

For example, weekday coverage of the U.S. Open has broadcast on FS1 while early rounds at the Masters have aired on ESPN in recent years.

The star power on Sunday was huge as big as it gets in sports. But those numbers are still staggering for a casual competition with no real stakes attached.

By comparison, The Last Dance drew an average of 5.6 million live viewers for 10 episodes over a five-week run. The first episode that aired on April 19 drew 6.3 million viewers, which smashed ESPNs previous record for a documentary held by 2012s 30 for 30 Bo Jackson feature You Dont Know Bo, which drew 3.6 million viewers.

The premiere of The Last Dance was the first taste of anything resembling fresh sports on TV in more than a month after the COVID-19 shutdown. That it was a decades-old story with a known outcome didnt matter.

People were starving for sports. And they still are. Which explains in part why sports leagues like MLB and the NBA are contemplating resuming play, no matter the obstacle or the reality that the COVID-19 risks remain.

The stakes and the potential rewards are massive.

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Turner: 'The Match' was most-watched golf event in cable history - Yahoo Sports

Its impossible to believe that someone who had a rookie season as good as Baker Mayfield can be a bad NFL quarterback.

Its also hard to believe that anyone who played like Mayfield did last season can be a consistently good NFL quarterback.

What do the Cleveland Browns have with Mayfield? The answer isnt a satisfying one. The truth is, we dont know. You can make a strong argument for him being a future star or him being a bust from the No. 1 overall pick.

Its Kevin Stefanskis job to figure that out in his first year as Browns coach. The franchise desperately needs the answer to be on the future star end of the spectrum.

Dianna Russini of ESPN passed along a quote that illustrates whats at stake in Mayfields third season.

Kirk Cousins is a good NFL quarterback. We can argue if hes worth his salary and hes not without warts, but hes a reasonable starting quarterback. Cousins was excellent last year with Stefanski as his offensive coordinator in Minnesota. Cousins made the Pro Bowl.

To say Mayfield is way more talented means the bar is high. A couple Pro Bowls and a career 96.8 passer rating with 88 career starts, which is Cousins rsum, wouldnt be good enough. At least if you buy the opinion of one of the three AFC North coaches outside of Cleveland.

Mayfields talent is hard to deny. He won a Heisman Trophy, was the first pick of the draft and set a rookie record with 27 touchdowns despite not starting Clevelands first three games. Mayfield had some rough moments as a rookie too, but overall its hard to have a much better first year in the NFL.

Thats why its so hard to figure out last season, and if Stefanski understands what went wrong.

Baker Mayfield didn't have a great follow-up to his fine rookie season. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

There are plenty of reasonable excuses for Mayfield last season. Odell Beckham Jr. played through injury most of the season. His offensive line wasnt good. First-year coach Freddie Kitchens was in over his head.

Still, Mayfield deserves a lot of blame for a terrible season. His decision-making was poor. He threw 22 interceptions and every key stat dipped. Cousins, to go back to that comparison, never had a season that bad.

Stefanski talked with Yahoo Sports Terez Paylor last season and discussed his offense, which was heavy on running the ball and setting up play-action. It worked great for Cousins, and Paylor didnt think Stefanskis scheme would change much with Mayfield at quarterback.

We want to play to our strengths, and any time youre thinking about that, youre always thinking about the quarterback, Stefanski told Paylor. We saw an offense that Kirk could excel in with the keeper game and the play-action, because hes so accurate on the move. And then, with the threats we had to get down the field we just thought there was potential there.

The potential is there with Mayfield too. The Browns have a notoriously rough time finding a franchise quarterback. Mayfields 2018 season gave everyone hope. His 2019 season brought about a lot of concern.

If Stefanski can unlock what worked in 2018 and get Mayfield back to that level, itll make the rest of his job a lot easier.

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If Kevin Stefanski can't turn around Baker Mayfield who is 'way more talented' than Kirk Cousins Browns are in trouble - Yahoo Sports

The armies of the world's two most populous nations are locked in a tense face-off high in the Himalayas, which has the potential to escalate as they seek to further their strategic goals.

Officials quoted by the Indian media say thousands of Chinese troops have forced their way into the Galwan valley in Ladakh, in the disputed Kashmir region.

Indian leaders and military strategists have clearly been left stunned.

The reports say that in early May, Chinese forces put up tents, dug trenches and moved heavy equipment several kilometres inside what had been regarded by India as its territory. The move came after India built a road several hundred kilometres long connecting to a high-altitude forward air base which it reactivated in 2008.

The message from China appears clear to observers in Delhi - this is not a routine incursion.

"The situation is serious. The Chinese have come into territory which they themselves accepted as part of India. It has completely changed the status quo," says Ajai Shukla, an Indian military expert who served as a colonel in the army.

China takes a different view, saying it's India which has changed facts on the ground.

India and China share a border more than 3,440km (2,100 miles) long and have overlapping territorial claims. Their border patrols often bump into each other, resulting in occasional scuffles but both sides insist no bullet has been fired in four decades.

Their armies - two of the world's largest - come face to face at many points. The poorly demarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC) separates the two sides. Rivers, lakes and snowcaps mean the line separating soldiers can shift and they often come close to confrontation.

The current military tension is not limited to Ladakh. Soldiers from the two sides are also eyeball-to-eyeball in Naku La, on the border between China and the north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim. Earlier this month they reportedly came to blows.

And there's a row over a new map put out by Nepal, too, which accuses India of encroaching on its territory by building a road connecting with China.

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There are several reasons - but competing strategic goals lie at the root, and both sides blame each other.

"The traditionally peaceful Galwan River has now become a hotspot because it is where the LAC is closest to the new road India has built along the Shyok River to Daulet Beg Oldi (DBO) - the most remote and vulnerable area along the LAC in Ladakh," Mr Shukla says.

India's decision to ramp up infrastructure seems to have infuriated Beijing.

Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times said categorically: "The Galwan Valley region is Chinese territory, and the local border control situation was very clear."

"According to the Chinese military, India is the one which has forced its way into the Galwan valley. So, India is changing the status quo along the LAC - that has angered the Chinese," says Dr Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs (CIWA), a think tank.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia programme at the Wilson Center, another think tank, says this face-off is not routine. He adds China's "massive deployment of soldiers is a show of strength".

The road could boost Delhi's capability to move men and material rapidly in case of a conflict.

Differences have been growing in the past year over other areas of policy too.

When India controversially decided to end Jammu and Kashmir's limited autonomy in August last year, it also redrew the region's map.

The new federally-administered Ladakh included Aksai Chin, an area India claims but China controls.

Senior leaders of India's Hindu-nationalist BJP government have also been talking about recapturing Pakistan-administered Kashmir. A strategic road, the Karakoram highway, passes through this area that connects China with its long-term ally Pakistan. Beijing has invested about $60bn (48bn) in Pakistan's infrastructure - the so-called China Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) - as part of its Belt and Road Initiative and the highway is key to transporting goods to and from the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar. The port gives China a foothold in the Arabian Sea.

In addition, China was unhappy when India initially banned all exports of medical and protective equipment to shore up its stocks soon after the coronavirus pandemic started earlier this year.

Reports in the Indian media said soldiers from the two sides clashed on at least two occasions in Ladakh. Stand-offs are reported in at least three locations: the Galwan valley; Hot Springs; and Pangong lake to the south.

"We routinely see both armies crossing the LAC - it's fairly common and such incidents are resolved at the local military level. But this time, the build-up is the largest we have ever seen," says former Indian diplomat P Stobdan, an expert in Ladakh and India-China affairs.

"The stand-off is happening at some strategic areas that are important for India. If Pangong lake is taken, Ladakh can't be defended. If the Chinese military is allowed to settle in the strategic valley of Shyok, then the Nubra valley and even Siachen can be reached."

In what seems to be an intelligence failure, India seems to have been caught off guard again. According to Indian media accounts, the country's soldiers were outnumbered and surrounded when China swiftly diverted men and machines from a military exercise to the border region.

This triggered alarm in Delhi - and India has limited room for manoeuvre. It can either seek to persuade Beijing to withdraw its troops through dialogue or try to remove them by force. Neither is an easy option.

"China is the world's second-largest military power. Technologically it's superior to India. Infrastructure on the other side is very advanced. Financially, China can divert its resources to achieve its military goals, whereas the Indian economy has been struggling in recent years, and the coronavirus crisis has worsened the situation," says Ajai Shukla.

History holds difficult lessons for India. It suffered a humiliating defeat during the 1962 border conflict with China. India says China occupies 38,000km of its territory. Several rounds of talks in the last three decades have failed to resolve the boundary issues.

China already controls the Aksai Chin area further east of Ladakh and this region, claimed by India, is strategically important for Beijing as it connect its Xinjiang province with western Tibet.

In 2017 India and China were engaged in a similar stand-off lasting more than two months in Doklam plateau, a tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan.

India objected to China building a road in a region claimed by Bhutan. The Chinese stood firm. Within six months, Indian media reported that Beijing had built a permanent all-weather military complex there.

This time, too, talks are seen as the only way forward - both countries have so much to lose in a military conflict.

"China has no intention to escalate tensions and I think India also doesn't want a conflict. But the situation depends on both sides. The Indian government should not be guided by the nationalistic media comments," says Dr Long Xingchun of the CIWA in Chengdu. "Both countries have the ability to solve the dispute through high-level talks."

Chinese media have given hardly any coverage to the border issue, which is being interpreted as a possible signal that a route to talks will be sought.

Pratyush Rao, associate director for South Asia at Control Risks consultancy, says both sides have "a clear interest in prioritising their economic recovery" and avoiding military escalation.

"It is important to recognise that both sides have a creditable record of maintaining relative peace and stability along their disputed border."

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