Thursday, Sept. 17th, 2020

A two-month-old baby dies of COVID-19 in Michigan, the youngest known fatality in the state thus far. (MLive.com)

An additional 150 million children live in multidimensional poverty since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. The analysis by UNICEF and Save the Children is based on shortcomings in education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, and water. (PTI via The Week)

US Attorney General William Barr told prosecutors to aggressively charge people arrested at recent demonstrations across the US, even suggesting including a sedition charge, usually reserved for those who have plotted a threat that posed imminent danger to the government. (The Guardian)

The economy enters recession for the first time since 1987 after the country’s GDP declined by 12.2% between April and June, amid a nationwide lockdown and travel bans due to COVID-19. (BBC)

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announces that temporary restrictions will be in place in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, and the County Durham council area effective at midnight tonight due to “concerning rates of infection.” Almost two million people in North-east England will be banned from meeting with other households. (BBC)

Portugal reports a record increase of 770 new cases and ten deaths, thus bringing the cumulative total to 66,396 confirmed cases and 1,888 deaths. Today also marks the official start of the 2020/2021 public school year, which began with in-person classes nationwide. (DGS)

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki proposes a €1 billion (US$1.2 billion) stabilization fund by the European Central Bank to revitalize the Belarusian economy amid the protests. (AFP via France 24)

 

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Wednesday,  Sept. 16th, 2020

The Trump administration and federal officials from Operation Warp Speed unveil plans for distributing doses of a COVID-19 vaccine once the FDA approves their use. (CBS News)

Madrid announces plans to introduce targeted lockdowns and other restrictions on movement on September 18, in areas with high cases, local authorities said as the region accounts for around one-third of active cases in Spain. (El Pais in English)

In Popayán, Colombia, members of the Misak indigenous community topple and decapitate a monument dedicated to Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar. (BBC)

The United Kingdom returns three antique bronze sculptures to India more than 40 years after they were stolen from a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu. They were found in London after one was offered for sale in 2019. A total of four bronzes from the Vijayanagara period, which lasted from the 14th to the 17th century, were stolen in 1978 from a temple dedicated to the god Vishnu in Nagapattinam. (Reuters)

Part of the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Pensacola, Florida, collapses due to 30 inches of rain. (USA Today)

A United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission formally accuses the Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity, including cases of killings, torture, violence against political opposition and disappearances since 2014. President Nicolás Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials are among those implicated in the charges. (BBC)

The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, accuses the United States of “working behind the scenes” in Belarus towards another “colour revolution”, funding bloggers and training activists through NGO’s against the interests of Belarusian citizens. Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu flies to Minsk after disputed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for weapons during a meeting in Moscow on Monday. Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov says Russia will, before the end of the year, disburse the first $1-billion tranche of a loan that was agreed also on Monday, to help Belarus’ financial stability. (Reuters)

Sources around President Donald Trump say that the United States plans to sell as many as seven major weapons systems, including mines, cruise missiles and drones to Taiwan. (Reuters)

Yoshihide Suga is elected Prime Minister of Japan, following the resignation of his predecessor Shinzo Abe over health concerns. (BBC)

A United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure report blames a “horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight” by the Federal Aviation Administration for two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes, resulting in the airliner being grounded worldwide. (Reuters)

The Big Ten Conference announces its 2020 football season will begin on October 24 with an eight-game schedule, reversing its previous decision to cancel the season. (AP via WJRT-TV)

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Tuesday,  Sept. 15th, 2020

The death toll in the United States reaches 200,000. (Worldometers)

Brazil reports 1,113 deaths, the country’s highest in two weeks, thus bringing the death toll to 133,119. (Reuters)

The United States announces the suspension of the 10 percent tariff imposed on Canadian aluminum imports since August with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative citing a “sharp” decline in imports for the decision. (AFP via RFI)

A whistleblower working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Georgia details a high rate of hysterectomies and other alleged medical neglect in a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, says the allegations of hysterectomies being performed on women without consent are “incredibly disturbing”. (CNN) (BBC)

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, settles a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in a raid on her apartment by police in March. Her family will receive $12 million and several police reforms will also be enacted in the city as part of the agreement. (CNN)

China launched nine new satellites for the Jilin-1 remote sensing constellation from a barge out at sea. Launch of the nine Jilin-1 Gaofen-03 satellites took place at 01:23 UTC using the Long March 11 rocket.(Nasa Space Flight)

Pelosi promises further stimulus measures before November election House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly told lawmakers on Tuesday that the House would not leave for the November election before moving forward on another coronavirus stimulus bill. “We have to stay here until we have a bill,” Pelosi reportedly said on a call. A bipartisan group of House lawmakers are set to unveil a $1.5 trillion coronavirus relief bill later on Tuesday, an effort to find a compromise after months of talks collapsed without a follow-up bill to the CARES Act that provided relief for unemployed Americans and stimulus measures as the economy continues to struggle amid the pandemic. The new bill includes another round of direct payments and boosted jobless benefits. Republicans previously pushed a $500 billion bill, while Democrats wanted a $3.4 trillion stimulus plan. Source: Reuters

DOJ reportedly opens criminal investigation into John Bolton’s book The Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s recent book criminally disclosed classified information. A grand jury has issued a subpoena to Simon & Schuster, the publisher of The Room Where It Happened, for communications records. Bolton published his book in June, after the Trump administration attempted to prevent it from being released. A judge said, however, that Bolton had exposed himself “to civil (and potentially criminal) liability” and “likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations.” Bolton has said that the book doesn’t contain classified information. Trump has accused Bolton of revealing classified information in his book while also claiming the book is full of “made up stories.” Source: The New York Times

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