International News: 07/08/2020

ASIA

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 88,531

Total Cases: 4,774,302

New Deaths: 1,407

Total Deaths: 105,260

-India: India reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours in the world confirming 62,170 new infections. So far, more than 40,000 people have died in India due to this infections. 

-Lebanon: The investigation into the highly destructive blast in Beirut continues. Officials have pointed a major cause: A massive shipment of agricultural fertilizer was stored in the port of Beirut without safety precaution for years---despite warnings by local officials.

     A shipment of 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate arrived in Beirut on Russian-owned vessel in 2013. The ship was destined for Mozambique but stopped in Beirut due to financial difficulties. Once it arrived, the ship never left Beirut's port, according Lebanon's Director of Customs, Badri Daher, despite repeated warnings by him and others that the shipment was the equivalent of 'floating bomb'. Badri Daher confirmed that his office sent a total of six warning letters to the legal authorities but that authorities never responded to any of their letters. 

-Lebanon: Over 44000 people have signed an online petition to "place Lebanon under a French mandate for the next 10 years" as of Thursday afternoon. The petition was reportedly set up by Lebanese citizens on Wednesday following the massive Beirut explosion on Tuesday, killing over 140 people and injuring more than 5000. The petition reads : "Lebanon officials have clearly shown a total inability to secure and manage the country. With a failing system, corruption, terrorism and militia the country has just reached its last breath. We believe Lebanon should go back under the French mandate in order to establish a clean and durable governance."

(Note: The petition was directed at French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Thursday become the first foreign leader to arrive in Beirut since the tragedy struck. Macron warned that Lebanon will "continue to sink" without reforms as he arrived in Beirut. Macron told angry crowds in downtown Beirut that he would seek a new deal with political authorities.

NORTH AMERICA

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 70,116

Total Cases: 5,912,614

New Deaths: 2,175

Total Deaths: 229,037

-USA: Grocery stores have sky rocketed during the coronavirus pandemic. As millions of Americans stay home and avoid eating out, the pandemic has caused a surge in demand for groceries. From February to June, meat and poultry prices rose nearly 11%, with beef and veal prices seeing the highest rise, spiking 20%. Nearly 30 million out of 249 million respondents told the US Census Bureau they did not have enough to eat at some point in the week before July-- the highest number of people reporting insufficient food since the census started tracking that data in early May.

(Note: The meat supply chain has been hit particularly hard in USA. Major meat processors closed their doors when workers fell ill and have slowed operations to accommodate new safety practices. Things aren't back to normal yet.

SOUTH AMERICA

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 87,951

Total Cases: 4,541,991

New Deaths: 2,081

Total Deaths: 154,805

-Brazil: Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer reported second-quarter losses of US$315 million on Wednesday, as sales plunged due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the second three-month of last year, Embraer posted profits of US$7.2 million. This time the company's hardest hit branch was commercial aviation, which fell 82.8% compared with the same period of last year.

-Chile: Latin America's biggest airline, the Brazilian Chilean group LATAM, said it was laying off at least 2,700 crew to cope with devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation industry. LATAM said it had failed to reach a deal with aviation workers' union on reducing pay and would therefore lay off pilots and flight attendants to keep the struggling company afloat(out of debt).

EUROPE

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 18,725

Total Cases: 2,982,576

New Deaths: 354

Total Deaths: 205,232

-Russia: Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot has canceled flights to 87 international destinations for the rest of August due to coronavirus situation. The list doesn't include following countries: Britain, Turkey, Tanzania and Switzerland.

-Italy: Italy has opened the new bridge in the city of Genoa, almost two years after the Morandi bridge collapsed.

(Note: The Morandi Bridge in the Italian port city of Geno collapsed on August 14, 2018, causing the death of 43 people and injuring hundreds more. It was one of the biggest civil disasters in Italian history).

AFRICA

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 14,265

Total Cases: 1,011,867 (cross 10 lakh)

New Deaths: 431

Total Deaths: 22,114

-Kenya: Kenya is one of several African countries that are resuming international flights which had been suspended since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenya Airways, the country's international airline, has resumed to 30 different destinations. Other African countries enjoying a resumption of flights include Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Togo.

(Note: So far, Kenya's government has reported 24,411 number of coronavirus cases and 399 number of COVID-19 deaths.)

-Tanzania: Former MP(member of Parliament) Tundu Lissu has been nominated as the presidential candidate against existing President John Magufuli in the October 28 elections. Tundu Lissu is the man who was shot by unidentified gunmen 16 times outside his parliamentary residence on Sept 2017 in Dodoma. He has returned to the country from treatment in Belgium. He had more than 20 surgeries while receiving treatment. 

(Note: Lissu told ,"Two hours before I was shot, multiple times President Magufuli made a televised speech saying that those who betray the country when it is waging an economic war do not deserve to survive" and now he has returned home to contest against President John Magufuli in the presidential elections in October.)

OCEANIA

-Coronavirus

New Cases: 456

Total Cases: 21,735

New Deaths: 9

Total Deaths: 281

-Australia: Victoria state entered a State of Disaster with its capital city Melbourne moving to stage-4 restrictions with stronger rules to contain the spread of COVID-19.