International News: 2020/09/26

 ASIA

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 10 million

Total Deaths: About 186K 

-China  [Source: SouthKoreaNews.Net]

The number of 5G users in Beijing has hit 5.06 million after the Beijing city's official launch commercial 5G in 2019, local authorities said on Tuesday. As of August, a total of 44,000 5G base stations have been put into operation in Beijing. 5G networks are able to meet the demand of industrial Internet, Internet of vehicles and tele-machine, according to the administration.

-Vietnam  [Source: SouthKoreaNews.Net]

     Despite of having about 97.5 million population, Vietnam reports just 1,069 coronavirus cases including 35 Covid deaths. "Vietnam's government has proven to the world thus far that it can protect its borders from the invasion of pandemic and create a desirable atmosphere for investment, something that most other Asian nations cannot boast", said Raalf Matthaes, founder of the Infocus Mekong Research consultancy. But Vietnamese officials have lowered expectations for their country's normally fast-growing gross domestic product in 2020 as the global economic slowdown sparse demand for exports. "The problem is that those light industrial goods are weak, the exports orders are down and there's reports of a lot of unemployment in the factory sector in the Vietnamese provinces", said Frederick Burk, partner in law firm Baker Mckenzie.

     A Vietnam factory operated by Taiwan-based Pou Chen Group, which makes footwear for some of the world's top brands, laid-off 150 workers earlier this year, the non profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre says. Vietnam's border closure, a measure to throttle the coronavirus spread, stopped investors from making trips that would help them expand. They would normally travel to Vietnam from Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan to scope out new manufacturing sites. Their factories in turn create jobs, fostering a young middle class.

      Tourism has also been badly affected by the restrictions on travel said Jack Niguyen, partner in the business advisory firm Mazars. "Things will only pick up only when the borders are open and there's no quarantine requirements", Niguyen said. "Who knows when that's going to be."

NORTH AMERICA

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 8.6 million

Total Deaths: About 305K

-USA  [Source: SouthKoreaNews.Net]

     Scientists at the U.S. spacy agency NASA say a small asteroid -roughly the size of bus- passed close to Earth on Thursday, flying just 22,000 kilometers above the surface, within the orbit of geostationary satellites that ring the planet. The asteroid known as 2020SW is about five to ten meters wide and was first discovered on September 18 by the NASA.

     NASA's Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) director Paul Chodas says an object this size, this close to Earth, is not uncommon. After discovering of 2020SW, CENOS did follow-up observations and confirm its orbital trajectory, excluding any chance of impact. "After passing the Earth, the asteroid will continue its journey around the Sun,

not returning to Earth's vicinity until 2041", says NASA. 

(Note: The space agency says they believe there are over 100 million small asteroids like 2020SW, but they are hard to discover unless they get very close to Earth. They said even if the asteroid had entered the earth's atmosphere, it almost certainly would have broken up and become a bright meteor)

SOUTH AMERICA

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 7.8 million

Total Deaths: About 246K

-Brazil  [Source: Aljazeera]

     Rio de Janeiro's world famous carnival parade has been postponed, the Samba schools that organise the event announced on Thursday, as the country grapples with the second- deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the world. Samba schools in Rio de Janeiro announced they would delay the February 2021 Carnival because of COVID-19, and said it will probably not take place until a vaccine was found.

     "We come to the conclusion that the event had to be postponed", said Jorge Castanheira, the president of the group that organises the annual parades. "It's increasingly difficult to have Carnival without a vaccine. There is no way to have Carnival without safety."

(Note: Brazil is dealing with the world's worst outbreak of COVID-19 after the United States and the Rio Carnival would pose a huge risk: an extended festival of tightly packed crowds dancing through the streets and flocking to the city's iconic 'Sambadrome' for -enormous parades and all-night partying)

EUROPE

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 4.7 million

Total Deaths: About 219K

-Belgium  [Source: DW]

Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has said that wearing face masks will no longer be compulsory from October 1. "Wearing a mask is very important in the management of the epidemic. However, there is no point in imposing it everywhere all the time", Wilmes told journalists in Brussels(Belgium's capital). She said Belgians will need to learn to live with the virus.

(Note: Masks will still have to be worn in crowded public places where social distancing cannot be maintained.)

AFRICA

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 1.4 million

Total Deaths: About 34K

-Botswana  [Source: MecroPress]

Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year, officials said on Monday, which had baffled and alarmed conservationists. Mmadi Reuben, veterinary officer at Department of Wildlife and National Parks told a news conference: "Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths. These are bacteria found in water. However we have many questions still be answered such as why the elephants only and why that area only? We have a number of hypotheses we are investigating. "Others animals in the Okavango Panhandle region appeared unharmed.

[Note: In neighbouring Zimbabwe, about 25 elephant carcasses(the dead body of animal) were found near the country's biggest park. Park authorities believe the elephants could have ingested the bacteria while searching for food. the carcasses were found near water resources.

   Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occuring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures, which many cyanobacteria prefer. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Southern Africa's temperatures are rising at twice the global average.]

OCEANIA

-Coronavirus

Total Cases: Cross 30K

Total Deaths: About 900

-Australia  [Source: BBC]

     Since Monday, hundreds of long-filled pilot whales have been beached(become stranded out of water) on Tasmania West Coast. The whales largely washed up on sand spits in the waters around an area called Macquarie Heads. The first rescuer on Monday counted about 270 whales, but a helicopter on Tuesday spotted another 200 dead whales nearby. Officials say about 400 whales have died in what is suspected to be Australia's largest stranding on record.

     A team of about 60 people have used slings and other equipment to help pull the whales off the sand banks so they are fully immersed in water. Once the whales are 'refloated', they are guided back into deep waters. Rescuers said they had escorted 50 whales back into the sea, which they deemed a "success" and they were trying to help the remaining estimated 30 whales. Tasmanian government officials said the rescue effort would continue "as long as there are live animals."

     Scientists say the reason is often unknown but they have a range of theories, including whales being lured(tempted) by fish to shore and becoming disoriented. Pilot whales in particular are known for stranding in groups because they travel in large, close-knit communities which rely on constant communication. Researcher says it's possible that one leading individual could have mistakenly led the whole group to shore.

(Note: More than 80% of Australian whale stranding take place in Tasmania and experts say Macquarie Heads is a known hotspot. Tasmania's previous biggest stranding was in 1935 with 294 pilot whales and its lass mass stranding was in 2009 and involved about 200 pilot whales.)