International

Important bits of information around the world

International
US, China and WHO
Sun May 10
US spars with China over pro-WHO language in UN Security Council ceasefire resolution
International
US, China and WHO

A Chinese push to include support for the World Health Organization in a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a global ceasefire has drawn strong U.S. opposition. The Associated Press reported that a compromise on the Security Council resolution was agreed to by the U.S. and China on Thursday, but by Friday that had all changed with senior U.S officials objecting to the new language.

resolution council prowho

Sun May 10 - Foxnews
International
Protests reemerging in Hong Kong
Sun May 10
Hundreds gather in Hong Kong malls as anti-gov't rallies reemerge
International
Protests reemerging in Hong Kong

Small protests have erupted in Hong Kong as hundreds of people gathered in several shopping centres to call for independence and the resignation of the city's Beijing-backed leader. On Wednesday, China's Hong Kong affairs office condemned protesters as a "political virus", warning the territory would never be calm until the demonstrators were removed.

small demonstrations malls

Sun May 10 - Aljazeera
Malaysia extends Movement Control Order (MCO) until June 9
International
Malaysia extends Movement Control Order (MCO) until June 9

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin made an announcement on Sunday about the lockdown measures in the country. Country’s movement control order (MCO) will be extended for a further month until Jun 9, the fourth extension since it was enforced on Mar 18, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said. PM said even though the country saw many positive developments in its fight against COVID-19, the efforts have not fully succeeded

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Sun May 10 - CNA
China starts another trade war, this time with Australia
International
China starts another trade war, this time with Australia

Relations between China and Australia have not been great in recent months amid coronavirus pandemic statements. Australia criticized China’s coronavirus response while China accused Australia of siding the US narrative. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham is “deeply concerned” by China threatening to slap a tariff on Australian barley imports, saying there is “no justification”

australia china trade war coronavirus

Sun May 10 - Perthnow
India’s coronavirus infection rate is 4%, one of the lowest in the world
International
India’s coronavirus infection rate is 4%, one of the lowest in the world

A country of more than 1.3 billion people has reported around 60,000 coronavirus infections so far as health authorities conducted more than 1.5 million tests, which marks the infection rate at about 4%. This rate is one of the lowest in the world considering that the infection rate in the US, UK, and Spain has been above 10%. India has increased testing capacity to 95,000 tests per day

india deaths coronavirus rate covid19 cases covid

Sun May 10 - CNBC
Thousands gathered in Belarus for Military Parade
International
Thousands gathered in Belarus for Military Parade, defying social-distancing

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko decided to hold a military parade in Minsk on Saturday despite coronavirus concerns. Unlike other former Soviet states, Belarus did not cancel mass events to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and has not imposed strict self-isolation rules. As of Saturday, Belarus, a country of 9.5 million, has officially reported 21,101 cases of coronavirus and more than 120 deaths

coronavirus covid19 belarus minsk parade

Sat May 09 - CNN
11 U.S. Secret Service agents have tested positive for Coronavirus
International
11 U.S. Secret Service agents have tested positive for Coronavirus

Yahoo News obtained a document from the U.S Department of Homeland Security which shows that 11 of the Secret Service agents have been tested positive for COVID-19. Although, It's still not clear if any have recently been working at the White House or have had any contact with Trump or Pence. President Trump and VP Pence are both regularly tested for the virus, and neither has tested positive so far

trump us service pence secret dhs

Sat May 09 - TheHill
Correlation between Vitamin C deficiency and coronavirus
International
Correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and coronavirus mortality rates

According to a new study conducted at Northwestern University, researchers have found a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates from the novel coronavirus. The study is backed by the examples in the Eurozone area as the patients from countries with Vitamin D deficiency like Italy, Spain suffered a lot more than the patients from countries with less deficiency of Vitamin D

coronavirus covid19 vitamind deficiency

Sat May 09 - MarketWatch
Wuhan’s wet market played a role in coronavirus outbreak
International
Wuhan’s wet market played a role in coronavirus outbreak, WHO says

According to the World Health Organization, the Wholesale wet market in Wuhan played a significant role in the virus outbreak last year. Although, it’s still not clear whether live animals or infected vendors or shoppers may have brought the virus into the market. “The market played a role in the event, that’s clear. But what role we don’t know,” said Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert on food safety

china who wuhan wetmarkets

Fri May 08 - CNBC
India coronavirus cases jump past 50,000 amid strict lockdown
International
Indian coronavirus cases above 50,000

Coronavirus cases in India jumped above 50,000, the health ministry confirmed on Thursday, with the pace of new infections showing no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown in the world's second-most populous country. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Maharashtra, the state where Mumbai is located, was an area of particular concern and said the federal government stood ready to help.

india health economic week

Fri May 08 - Aljazeera
Kenyans Held For Weeks in Quarantine Were Told to Pay to Get Out
International
Quarantined Kenyans were told to pay to Get Out

Kenyans Held For Weeks in Quarantine Were Told to Pay to Get Out Hundreds in the East African nation were put in quarantine for breaking curfew or not wearing masks. That, some said, was just the start of their ordeal. According to residents of A government-designated quarantine facility in Nairobi, Kenya, in early April.

kenya weeks held ordeala

Fri May 08 - Nytimes
Trump: US would send ‘army’ to overthrow Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro
International
Trump commented on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro statement

Describing the operation as a “rogue group,” Trump said the mercenaries launched a haphazard attack after they were arrested on the beach and walked to shore at gunpoint by Venezuelan police. This was a rogue group that went in there, a lot of Venezuelans, I think people from other countries also,” Trump said.

donald-trump news venezuela nicolas-maduro

Fri May 08 - Nypost
Kim Jong Un praises China's handling of coronavirus
International
Kim Jong Un praises China for COVID-19 handling

According to the media reports, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to President Xi Jinping to congratulate him on China's handling of the coronavirus. Korean Central News Agency released a report that the North Korea chairman sent a “verbal message” to President Xi, congratulating him on “registering a success” in the fight against COVID-19.

china korea days kims

Fri May 08 - Foxnews
Hong Kong parliament in chaos as politicians fight for chair
International
Political Chaos in Hong Kong parliament

There is a massive political chaos in Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s legislative council descended into extraordinary scenes on Friday, with opposing lawmakers throwing placards and scrambling over each other to take control of a house committee that has been unable to elect a new chairperson. The incumbent committee chair, Starry Lee, reached the seat first and was surrounded by security guards.

china hong-kong world-news asia-pacific

Fri May 08 - Theguardian
International
US-China trade negotiations
Fri May 08
US, China trade negotiators talk about phase one deal as uncertainty looms
International
US-China trade negotiations

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also spoke to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He about the economic and public health issues, according to the government from both sides.
But during the Thursday call, both sides "agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner," according to the Office

trump china trade donald talks

Fri May 08 - CNBC
UN chief says pandemic is unleashing a ‘tsunami of hate’
International
Coronavirus unleashing a ‘tsunami of hate’, says UN

UN Chief appealed to address and counter COVID-19-related hate speech follows his April 23 message calling the coronarivus pandemic “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.” Guterres said then that the pandemic has seen “disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response.”

race chief coronavirus hate antonio

Fri May 08 - Mercurynews
Brazil’s Education Minister will reward universities to restart teaching activities
International
Brazil’s Education Minister will reward universities to restart teaching activities

Education Minister of Brazil, Abraham Weintraub said that he will reward universities that restart education activities in Brazil, despite growing coronavirus infections in the country. Abraham Weintraub came under the spotlight recently for his highly racist tweet about China. He said, “those who are teaching classes will receive more resources and will be awarded.” Federal and State governments in Brazil are not on the same page regarding reopening of universities

brazil universities abrahamweintraub

Fri May 08 - Insidehighered
Global coronavirus cases near 4 million
International
Global coronavirus cases near 4 million

According to the latest numbers released by health officials, global coronavirus infections currently stand at 3,950,321 with over 271,000 deaths. The total number of recoveries around the world are now at 1,359,000. The US tops the list with the most number of COVID-19 cases, the number which is currently near 1.3 million. The total number of deaths in the US crossed 77,000

coronavirus covid19 cases infections globa

Fri May 08 - Worldometers
X Æ A-12 Musk, newly born baby boy of Elon Musk
International
X Æ A-12 Musk taking the Internet by storm

Elon Musk and musician Grimes announced the birth of their baby boy on May 4, since then, the baby has been in the news because of his “Innovative” name, Musk named his newly born son X Æ A-12 Musk, sparking discussions about the pronunciation, legality, and meaning of the name. While both of them have different versions of this name, as per California’s Birth Registration handbook, this name is illegal

elon musk baby grimes x-a-12-musk california-birth-registration-handbook

Fri May 08 - Insider
Singapore officers tested positive for COVID-19
International
Two quarantine officers in Singapore tested positive for COVID-19

Singapore’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday that two quarantine officers who served orders at different dormitories of foreign workers tested positive for Coronavirus. The first officer is a 36-year-old Singaporean who experienced symptoms on Tuesday while the second officer, a 23-year-old Singaporean experienced mild symptoms on April 30. Both officers didn’t have any travel history

singapore workers coronavirus covid19 cases officers

Fri May 08 - CNA
China discovers a huge natural gas belt
International
China discovers a huge natural gas belt

PetroChina, the country’s largest gas and oil producer discovered a huge natural gas belt with an estimated reserve of over 1 trillion cubic meters in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The newly discovered gas belt is around 130 KM away from Sichuan’s capital Chengdu. PetroChina supplies natural gas to more than 1,000 large and medium-sized industrial companies and more than 20 million households in southwest China

china oil gas petrochina

Fri May 08 - Xinhuanet
India's biggest evacuation mission since the Gulf War
International
India begins repatriation operation to bring back 200,000 citizens

India started a repatriation operation to ultimately bring back more than 200,000 Indians stranded in different parts of the world. More than 300 Indians arrived from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Passengers arrived in Kerala and went into quarantine. Over the next week, more than 15,000 Indians are expected to return on different Air India flights. This would be India’s biggest evacuation mission since 1990 from Kuwait during the Gulf War

india mission evacuation plan kuwait

Fri May 08 - BBC
Trump says coronavirus crisis is ‘worse’ than Pearl Harbor, 9/11 attacks
International
Coronavirus is worse than 9/11, says Trump

US President Trump said Wednesday the coronavirus “attack” is “worse” than the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks. The country has reported 71,064 coronavirus-related deaths, while 2,403 people died at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks in 2001. When asked if he was accepting the fact that more people would die under a quick reopening, Trump said “it could very well be the case"

trump us coronavirus 911 worst

Thu May 07 - Foxnews
Pompeo says more trade talks with Chinese possible even as he accuses them of coronavirus coverup
International
Pompeo says US is still open for more trade talks with China

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the trade talks door is still open even as he tripled down on accusations that the country's leadership sought to conceal information about the origins of the coronavirus. Since the first deal was signed, the coronavirus has slowed the global economy, and President Donald Trump has said he may scrap the deal

trump china trade donald talks

Thu May 07 - CNBC
PM Imran khan to lift coronavirus lockdown from May 9
International
Pakistan to lift coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, despite record numbers

Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that the country has decided to lift its coronavirus lockdown on Saturday despite the reason that Pakistan reported a record 1,523 new cases in the last 24 hours. “We are a developing country and we can’t afford to keep the country shut for much longer,” Khan said. The PM requested the nation to follow the SOPs provided by the government

pakistan economy crisis lockdown khan coronavirus imran

Thu May 07 - Samaa