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International News (601)
June
UPDATE - WFP Requires $197Mln to Maintain Aid Programs in Syria, Urges Donors for Support
Written by nuke
photo : AFP
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has a funding shortfall totaling US$197 million for its operations in Syria and urgent support from international donors is required to ensure the deliveries of vital food supplies to vulnerable families in the country, WFP Syria Communications Officer Jessica Lawson told Sputnik. Jessica Lawson also said support from international donors will be vital in allowing the WFP to continue to deliver food to the most vulnerable families in Syria as the needs of the population become greater. Needs across the country are rapidly increasing and additional funds from donors are key to help vulnerable families to access nutritious food. The WFP’s work in Syria continues in close coordination with the country’s government, which is helping to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed to those in need//sputnik
June
Daewoong Pharmaceutical says anti-parasitic drug effective against coronavirus in animal tests
Written by nuke
photo : times
South Korea's Daewoong Pharmaceutical said its anti-parasitic drug niclosamide had eliminated the novel coronavirus from animals' lungs during testing. Drugmakers worldwide are rushing to develop treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 400,000 globally since it first emerged late last year in China. Daewoong said its experimental anti-viral drug completely cleared up the disease in ferrets' lung tissues and inhibited inflammation. The company plans to start human clinical trials in July. Jeon Seng-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharma said based on the positive outcome of the animal test, the plan to complete human trials and get approval of the COVID-19 treatment drug by the end of this year//JP
June
photo : theindependent
Thousands of people have joined anti-racism demonstrations across the UK. The protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US, are being held in cities including London, Manchester, Cardiff, Leicester, and Sheffield. In London, protesters knelt for a minute's silence before chanting "no justice, no peace" and "black lives matter". The protests went ahead despite officials advising against mass gatherings due to coronavirus. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the social distancing advice was "for the safety of all of us", while Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said the protests were "unlawful". The vast majority of the day's protests were peaceful//BBC
June
Senior Trump aide apologizes for promoting racially-charged video
Written by nuke
photo : cbsnews
A senior aide to Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday apologized for promoting a racially-charged video on her Twitter feed. Mercedes Schlapp, a senior Trump national spokeswoman, said she “deeply apologized” for retweeting a video of a chainsaw wielding man in Texas, shouting at anti-racist protesters, in which he used a racial slur. Schlapp’s apology comes as the U.S. is convulsed by protests after the police killing in Minnesota last month of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer, who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer has been charged with second degree murder and three fellow officers have been charged in abetting Floyd’s death//Reuters
June
Joe Biden wins enough delegates to secure Democratic nomination
Written by nuke
photo : theguardian
Former Vice President Joe Biden has earned enough delegates toofficially secure the Democratic nomination for president, CNN projected on Saturday. Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee since April, when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the primary. His electoral victory in Guam on Saturday allowed him to surpass the necessary 1,991 delegates to claim the nomination on the first ballot of the party's convention, set to be held in August. Biden currently has 1,992 delegates, according to CNN's tally. In his statement, Mr. Biden said a little more than three months ago he stood on stage in South Carolina and told the American people that ours was a campaign for everyone who has been knocked down, counted out, and left behind. Those words take on an even greater resonance today, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and have suffered so much loss. The moment comes after the coronavirus pandemic postponed most of the primaries scheduled to take place in April and May and halted in-person campaigning//CNN
June
photo : almonitor
OPEC, Russia and allies agreed on Saturday to extend record oil production cuts, until the end of July, prolonging a deal that has helped crude prices double in the past two months, by withdrawing almost 10% of global supplies from the market. The group, known as OPEC+, also demanded countries such as Nigeria and Iraq, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, compensate with extra cuts in July to September. OPEC+ had initially agreed in April that it would cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Those cuts were due to taper to 7.7 million bpd from July to December. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the video conference of OPEC+ ministers, that demand is returning as big oil-consuming economies emerge from pandemic lockdown. But we are not out of the woods yet and challenges ahead remain//Reuters
June
Answered prayers': Fiji declares itself coronavirus free
Written by nuke
photo : the week
Fiji announced it was coronavirus free Friday after the island nation's last known infected patient was given the all-clear, continuing the Pacific's remarkable record of success against the virus. There was panic among Fiji's 930,000 population when the first COVID-19 case was reported in mid-March, but strict isolation measures and border controls kept a lid on infections, which peaked at 18 confirmed cases. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama attributed the country's virus-free status to "answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science". He tweeted that Fiji has just cleared the last of our active COVID-19 patients. And even with the government testing numbers climbing by the day, it's now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, the country’s recovery rate is 100 percent. The Pacific islands were initially seen as among the world's most vulnerable to the virus, because of under-resourced health infrastructure and high rates of health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease//AFP
June
photo : mediaindonesia
Temperatures soared 10 degrees Celsius above average last month in Siberia, home to much of Earth's permafrost, as the world experienced its warmest May on record, the European Union's climate monitoring network said Friday. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said May 2020 was 0.63C warmer, than the average May from 1981 to 2010, with above average temperatures across parts of Alaska, Europe, North America, South America, swathes of Africa and Antarctica. C3S senior scientist Freja Vamborg told AFP that Western Siberia in particular has been unusually warm for several months running. She said that the really large anomalies started during January, and since then this signal has been quite persistent. Globally, the average temperature for the twelve months to May 2020 is close to 1.3C above preindustrial levels, the benchmark by which global warming is often measured//AFP
June
EU, UK to step up Brexit talks despite limited progress
Written by nuke
photo : euronews
Brussels and London pledged Friday to step up the pace of Brexit trade talks to try to strike a deal by the end of October, after the latest round of negotiations ended with no major breakthrough. European Union (EU) chief negotiator Michel Barnier accused Britain of backtracking on divorce terms agreed last year, as he reported "no significant progress" in four days of talks held by video link because of coronavirus. The former French minister set an October 31 deadline, to reach an agreement on future EU-UK ties, to give time for it to be ratified before the end of the year. Britain left the EU on January 31 and is now in a transition period until December 31, when it will leave the bloc's single market and customs union -- with or without a trade deal. Barnier's UK counterpart David Frost noted "limited" advances and asked that both sides "intensify and accelerate our work" in order to clinch the deal. Barnier said the next round of talks would take place in late June or early July as officials talked of a busy summer ahead for negotiations//AFP
June
France to transform surplus wine into hand sanitiser
Written by nuke
photo : wearesocial
French winemakers will transform wine that went unsold during the country's two-month COVID-19 lockdown, into hand sanitiser and ethanol to make room for the next harvest, a farming agency said on Thursday (Jun 4). Wine sales and exports, particularly to the United States, plunged at the height of the coronavirus crisis, leaving winemakers with millions of litres of unsold wine. Didier Josso, head of the wine branch in the farming agency FranceAgriMer, at a video press conference, that from tomorrow, 33 licensed distillers will be able to collect the wine and distil it. The alcohol resulting from the distillation is exclusively reserved for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry and the production of hand sanitiser, and for the production of ethanol. European public funds will finance the distillation of 200 million litres of French wine after Brussels gave its green light for the exceptional measure. Experts said 300 million litres were in-need of distilling. Major wine-producing countries such as Spain and Italy have resorted to similar measures to regulate the excess, as well as to the exceptional destruction of young grape vines//AFP/CNA