Tuesday,  Aug. 25th, 2020

National Guard deployed amid Kenosha protests after police shoot Jacob Blake Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) called 125 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday to combat protests after police shot and seriously injured Jacob Blake in his car on Sunday. Cellphone video captured by a witness shows two officers with their guns drawn following Blake, a Black man, as he walked toward his SUV and firing on him when he opened the door. Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday night to condemn the shooting and the Kenosha Police Department, and continued when Kenosha’s mayor moved a Monday afternoon news conference into the city’s public safety building. Police in riot gear used pepper spray and other irritants on protesters and journalists outside the building as they tried to get inside. Blake is in serious condition at a Milwaukee hospital. Source: Kenosha News

Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin has deployed the National Guard to maintain “public safety” after police shot Jacob Blake on Sunday. Hundreds of people marched on police headquarters that night to demonstrate against the shooting. Up to 200 members of the National Guard will be deployed. (BBC)

The 2020 Republican National Convention begins, running until Thursday. Incumbents President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to be officially nominated to run for re-election, facing off against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in November. (CNN)

The Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is admitted, reveals that doctors have found cholinesterase inhibitors in his body that suggest he may have been poisoned. Doctors in Omsk, Russia, where Navalny was initially admitted, earlier claimed that there was no evidence of poison in his body. (CBS News)

Putin critic Navalny was poisoned, German hospital says  Charite Hospital in Berlin on Monday said that Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and Putin critic who fell ill last week, is suffering from “intoxication by a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors.” It did not identify the substance he was allegedly poisoned with. Navalny was hospitalized last week after falling ill on a flight to Moscow from Siberia, and his press secretary said at the time that “we suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea.” A state-run hospital in Siberia, however, claimed he suffered from “a sudden drop in blood sugar” due to a “metabolic disorder.” Navalny is still in a coma in Germany, and the Berlin hospital said “his state of health is serious, but there is currently no acute danger to his life.”  Source: CBS News

A major blackout is reported in Syria after an explosion hits the Arab Gas Pipeline in the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Syrian Oil Minister Ali Ghanem says the explosion was a “terrorist attack”, but does not elaborate on who was behind it. (Al Jazeera)

TikTok sues U.S. President Donald Trump over his executive orders, signed earlier this month, that would effectively ban the app within the United States, calling it part of a “broader campaign of anti-China rhetoric” in the lead up to the presidential election. (Reuters)

Seoul orders face masks to be worn in both indoor and outdoor public places for the first time as it battles a surge in cases centred in the densely populated metropolitan area. (Liputan6)

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews proposes to extend the state of emergency to at least September 2021. (9News)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Israel, 11 days after the country agreed to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates. Pompeo embarks on a tour of the Middle East and Sudan to persuade the other Arab states to normalize relations with Israel as well. (Al Jazeera)

Ohio Rep. John Becker draws up 10 articles of impeachment on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 orders. Rep. Nino Vitale and Rep. Paul Zeltwanger are co-sponsors for the impeachment inquiries. (Cleveland News)

The Coordinating Council of the Belarusian opposition report that two of its members, Sergei Dylevsky and Olga Kovalkova, have been detained by police in Minsk. (AP via ABC News)

The Cyprus Papers, consisting of more than 1,400 confidential approved applications relating to the Cyprus Investment Programme run by the Republic of Cyprus, are published by the international broadcaster Al Jazeera, which says they have been sold to criminals and fugitives who, by purchasing a Cypriot passport, become European Union citizens. The European Commission, as well as a leading anti-corruption NGO, want this program phased out. (Al Jazeera)

New York attorney general takes legal action against Trump Organization  New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in a legal filing on Monday asked a judge to force the Trump Organization to provide information it has been seeking in a probe of the company’s financial dealings. The investigation is focused on whether the Trump Organization “improperly inflated the value of Mr. Trump’s assets on financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits,” a filing said. James’ office said she’s seeking to compel testimony from Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, as well as “thousands of documents” that are being withheld. The Trump Organization’s chief legal officer said James’ “continued harassment of the company as we approach the election … once again confirms that this investigation is all about politics.” Source:  CNN

Jerry Falwell Jr. reportedly resigns from Liberty University  Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned as president of Liberty University, The Religion News Service reports. The news comes just hours after a Washington Examiner report in which one of Falwell’s business partners alleged that he had a years-long sexual relationship with Falwell and his wife, Becki. Falwell was already under scrutiny and went on indefinite leave from his presidency earlier this month after posting a photo of himself with his arm around a woman while they both had their pants partially unzipped, though that was not the first time he found himself in the spotlight while leading the private evangelic Christian university. Liberty alumni and former faculty for weeks had been calling for Falwell to permanently step down from the post which he’s held since 2007. Source: The Religion News Service

 

 

Monday,  Aug. 24th, 2020

Protests have erupted in the Kenosha, Wisconsin after police shot a black man, Jacob Blake, many times while responding to what they claimed was a domestic incident. An online video shows Blake being shot in the back in broad daylight as he tries to get into a car. Authorities declared an emergency overnight curfew after unrest broke out following the shooting. Vehicles were set on fire and protesters shouted “We won’t back down”. (BBC)

Forty people are arrested while protesting Operation Legend in Detroit. Police also used tear gas and pepper spray on the crowd of about 100 people. (WDIV)

President Donald Trump and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announce the emergency use authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients after days of White House officials suggesting there were politically motivated delays by the FDA in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that President Trump claims has harmed his re-election chances. The FDA said more than 70,000 patients have been treated with convalescent plasma, but they have not yet obtained enough randomized clinical trial data on convalescent plasma for COVID-19. Some of those trials are underway. (BBC)

Rioting erupts in Paris following the defeat of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in the Champions League final. Riot police fire tear gas at groups of PSG fans, who responded by throwing fireworks and flares. Several arrests are made. (The Mirror)

Footage shows Alexander Lukashenko departing a military helicopter outside the Independence Palace in Minsk, brandishing an assault rifle and wearing a bullet-proof vest. He then greeted a cordon of security forces guarding the palace. He was accompanied by his son Nikolai Lukashenko. In another video, Lukashenko can be heard saying “They’ve run away like rats”, while observing a protest in his helicopter. (The Guardian)

Counselor to the U.S. President Kellyanne Conway announces her resignation, effective at the end of the month. (AP via Global News)

 

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Sunday,  Aug 23rd, 2020

State-run oil company Saudi Aramco suspends plans to build a US$10 billion oil refinery in Liaoning, China, due to decreased global demand for oil. Its Chinese partners said they will press ahead with the project. (Al Jazeera)

Dueling protesters clash, ignore police warnings in Portland Demonstrators faced off in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, with the two sides — one aligned with a “Back the Blue” rally and the other a Black Lives Matter counter-demonstration — reportedly largely ignoring police warnings. The competing protests reportedly drew hundreds of people to a plaza near a federal court house that has been the site of a series of demonstrations. A volley of fire from paintball guns reportedly prompted a nearby officer to threaten the crowd with arrests, and a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right hate group, reportedly pulled a pistol on the Black Lives Matter demonstrators (he did not fire), but the city police never attempted to move in on the protesters. Ultimately, Department of Homeland Security officers deemed the gatherings unlawful and moved through the plaza, forcing the crowd to disperse. Source: The Oregonian

American company Pfizer and German company BioNTech says that they are on track to being submitted for regulatory review as early as October. (Financial Express)

Indonesia signs a deal with Chinese company Sinovac Biotech to purchase 50 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. (Bloomberg)

Global coronavirus deaths top 800,000 The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 800,000 on Saturday, data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows, while the number of confirmed cases across the world shot past 23 million. The United States has recorded the highest number of fatalities and infections of any country, while Brazil is second in both categories. India on Saturday became the third country to pass 3 million cases. Elsewhere, The Washington Post notes, Lebanon has experienced an alarming rise in new infections, compounding the country’s financial, economic, and political crises. Since a devastating explosion rocked Beirut’s port in early August, killing at least 180 people, the number of coronavirus case has nearly doubled in Lebanon, forcing the government to order a partial lockdown. Source: The Washington Post

India’s number of confirmed cases tops 3 million, making it the third country to surpass that number after the United States and Brazil as the country leads the world in daily new cases. (Al Jazeera)

Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is reportedly in serious condition, according to one of her party’s spokesperson after testing positive for COVID-19. (Bloomberg)

More than 2,000 athletes representing 46 nations participate in the 32nd annual Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim to empty audiences. It was scheduled for last month but was pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic. (Al Jazeera)

Takuma Sato of Japan wins the 104th Indianapolis 500. It is Sato’s second career Indy 500 victory.

Department of Homeland Security officers force demonstrators out of a plaza near Multnomah County Justice Center as dueling demonstrations in Portland, Oregon by right-wing and left-wing protesters turn violent. Images show hundreds of people involved, many of them wearing helmets and carrying makeshift shields. Some demonstrators appeared to use pepper spray and at least one person appeared to pull a gun, but no arrests have been made so far. (NBC News)

Alexei Navalny is admitted to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, following a medical evacuation flight from Omsk, Russia. The chairman of the Cinema for Peace Foundation, which organized the evacuation, says the comatose Russian opposition leader is in a “stable condition”. (CNN)

Russian opposition leader transferred to Germany after suspected poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny arrived in Berlin on Saturday morning, a day after his spokesperson said he was not permitted to be transferred from the Russian state-run hospital where he was being treated after falling ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on Thursday. Navalny remains in a coma and is is reportedly in critical condition, although he was reportedly stable during the flight and upon arrival. After touching down, he was taken to a Berlin hospital where he underwent a comprehensive medical examination. Doctors reportedly would not comment on his illness or treatment until those were completed, although his supporters believe he was poisoned at the behest of the Kremlin. The Russian hospital where Navalny was previously treated said there was no sign of poisoning, but toxicology experts have expressed doubts it could have been ruled out so quickly. Source: The Associated Press

The S&P Global Ratings downgrades Lebanon’s credit rating for its external debt to “selective default” (SD), following defaults due to the resignation of the government in the aftermath of the August 4 explosion in Beirut and the implementation of a two-week lockdown from August 18 following a surge in infections. (AFP via France 24)

At least 13 people are killed after police raid a nightclub in Lima for breaching restrictions that were imposed in response to the pandemic. Police report that a stampede occurred as patrons tried to escape, resulting in casualties, while others were killed due to asphyxiation. (Reuters via Hindustan Times)

South Korea announces a ban of large gatherings, shutting down high-risk facilities, banning in-person churches, and removing fans from professional sports nationwide tomorrow, as the country reports a new five-month high of 332 new cases in the last 24 hours, citing “a very dangerous situation that could trigger a massive nationwide spread of COVID-19”.  (The Telegraph)

Robert Koch Institute reports more than 2,000 new cases in Germany in the last 24 hours, which is the highest number of reported cases since late April. (Euronews)

The number of daily new cases in Italy surpasses 1,000 for the first time since May. (Daily Sabah)

In a 257–150 vote, the House of Representatives approves a bill that would reverse changes to the operations of the Postal Service implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, amid a series of backlogs and delays in the delivery of mail following his appointment in June. The bill also aims to provide the agency financial support worth $25 billion in preparation for an expected surge in postal voting in the upcoming election due to the pandemic. (AP via Philippine Daily Inquirer)

South Korea announces a ban of large gatherings, shutting down high-risk facilities, banning in-person churches, and removing fans from professional sports nationwide tomorrow, as the country reports a new five-month high of 332 new cases in the last 24 hours, citing “a very dangerous situation that could trigger a massive nationwide spread of COVID-19”.  (The Telegraph)

Trump claims ‘deep state’ operatives are slowing FDA’s coronavirus treatment development President Trump on Friday tweeted that “the deep state, or whoever, over at the” Food and Drug Administration is “making it very difficult for drug companies” to enroll people in coronavirus vaccine and therapy trials. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after Nov. 3,” he added, suggesting that the agency’s operatives were attempting to halt a life-saving, pandemic-altering coronavirus treatment to keep him from winning re-election. There is no evidence to back up the claim and the FDA, drug companies, and researchers are, on the contrary, working at an unprecedented pace to deliver something that will curb the spread of the coronavirus. As Politico notes, the FDA is not in charge of who enrolls in drug company trials. Source: Politico

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