(Mon) Britain set to ban Huawei from 5G
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An about-turn that will likely see Britain on the wrong side of Beijing: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make a landmark decision to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G network. The move will win plaudits from President Trump as the U.S. grapples with China's rising technological clout. It pushed Johnson to reverse his January decision to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G. And comes amid tensions over the crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception that China did not tell the whole truth over coronavirus. Britain's National Security Council, chaired by Johnson, will meet on Tuesday to discuss the Huawei issue. The immediate reason given for the change in British policy is the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Huawei chip technology. London says they affect the firm's ability to remain a reliable supplier in the future. It's unclear how far Johnson will go on Tuesday. Operators already had to cap Huawei's role in 5G at 35% by 2023. Reducing it to zero over an additional two to four years is now being discussed. But some telecoms firms have warned that going too fast could delay key technology and disrupt services. The U.S. says Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is an agent of the Chinese Communist State and cannot be trusted. Huawei denies all such allegations. Last week China's ambassador to London warned that Britain would face consequences if it shunned the company.
(Tue) Mexico has world's fourth-highest virus death toll
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Deaths from the coronavirus in Mexico climbed to over 35,000 on Sunday, surpassing Italy for the world's fourth-highest death toll. The country of 120 million now falls behind only the United States, Brazil and United Kingdom. But leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday the pandemic was quote "losing intensity " in Mexico, and blamed what he called the " conservative media" for raising alarm. While the worst of the virus appears to have passed in Italy, it's showing few signs of easing in Mexico. Lopez Obrador and his government have faced criticism for reopening the economy too soon. Yet despite Mexico passing its grim milestone, businesses have been back in full swing, albeit with some new restrictions in place. Hairdresser Alejandro Becerra says it's no longer just about the apron but face masks and a tight disinfecting regimen. "We've put in place disinfecting mats, antibacterial gel in various areas and each hairdresser has their own gel." Data from the research firm Statista indicates the virus death toll per million residents in Mexico is the 16th highest in the world. But Mexican officials say the actual count is likely much higher due to limited testing. A Reuters analysis of funeral home data in May suggested a toll of more than double the reported figures.
(Wed) WHO to set up probe into virus origin
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A team from the World Health Organization is on its way to China to set-up an investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus. The virus is believed to have emerged in the Chinese city Wuhan late last year after jumping from the animal kingdom to humans. Two WHO experts will work with Chinese scientists to plan out the upcoming investigation. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris. ¡°One of the big issues that everybody is interested in, and of course that's why we're sending an animal health expert, is to look at whether or not it jumped from species to a human and what species it jumped from. We know it's very, very similar to the virus in the bat, but did it go through an intermediate species? This is a question we all need answered.¡± President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed it may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory. But they did not present evidence for this and China strongly denies it. Scientists and U.S. intelligence agencies have said it emerged in nature.
(Thu) Disney World reopens amid Florida's virus surge
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Guests were welcomed back to, what some consider, ¡®the Happiest Place on Earth'... when, on Saturday, Florida¡¯s Walt Disney World reopened to the public for the first time in four months. Some staff wearing face coverings cheered as guests walked along Main Street into the sprawling Orlando complex. In handout video from Disney - Mickey and Mini Mouse waved from a distance¡¦ visitors had their temperatures checked¡¦ socially distanced while waiting for in line¡¦ and accepted hand sanitizer. THIS - as Florida has emerged as an epicenter of COVID-19 infections. New daily cases of the virus rose over 10,000 again on Saturday. Over the past two weeks, Florida reported over 100,000 new cases - more than any other U.S. state. More than four dozen hospitals in Florida have reported full intensive care units. Governor Ron DeSantis, who has called the spike a ¡®blip¡¯ on Saturday said it was important to protect the elderly from the virus: ¡°Given that you see more prevalence of this in the community today than we did, say in the middle of May, you know, it is important for those in the at-risk groups to avoid crowds and minimize the close contact with people who they don't live with.¡± According to a Reuters tally - new cases of COVID-19 rose by over 69,000 across the country on Friday - setting a record for the third consecutive day.
(Fri) U.S. probes allegations TikTok violated children's privacy
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The U.S. government is looking into allegations TikTok violated children's privacy. That's according to Reuters sources. It marks the latest run-in between U.S. authorities and the popular online app owned by China's ByteDance. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was 'certainly looking at' banning the app. He suggested it shared information with the Chinese government. TikTok denied the accusation. Two sources said they recently took part in separate conference calls with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission. They talked over allegations TikTok had not lived up to an agreement made in February 2019 to protect children's privacy. Campaigners want the U.S. government to find out whether TikTok failed to delete videos and personal information about users aged 13 and younger. In response, the firm said it took 'safety seriously'. TikTok claims it gives users under 13 a 'limited app experience' with more safety and privacy protections. The FTC and The Justice Department had no immediate comment. Any potential ban would be a heavy blow for TikTok. It said last year that 60% of its 26 million monthly active users in the U.S. are aged 16 to 24. U.S. lawmakers have also raised national security concerns over TikTok¡¯s handling of user data. They are worried about laws which require domestic companies to support and cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party.
** Other Latest Headlines **
* Berkeley moves toward removing police from traffic stops
After hours of emotional public testimony and a middle-of-the-night vote by Berkeley leaders, the progressive California city is moving forward with a novel proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in a bid to curtail racial profiling. The City Council early Wednesday approved a police reform proposal that calls for a public committee to hash out details of a new Berkeley Police Department that would not respond to calls involving people experiencing homelessness or mental illness. The committee also would pursue creating a separate department to handle transportation planning and enforcing parking and traffic laws. The council voted for the committee to find ways to eventually cut the Police Department¡¯s budget by half and approved an analysis of police calls and spending. A tired but excited Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said he doesn¡¯t expect a new transportation department overnight because conversations will be hard and detailed with complicated logistics to figure out. But he said communities of color in his city feel targeted by police and that needs to change.
* Short and to the point: five Fauci quotes to get you through the week
Anthony Fauci, the top public health expert on the White House coronavirus taskforce, is determined to get his message out. Despite the White House reportedly blocking TV interviews, and political forces undercutting him from Donald Trump down, the doctor who has served six presidents spent this week speaking out online.
Here are five highlights:
¡®We haven¡¯t even begun to see the end of it yet¡¯
On Monday, Fauci talked to Lloyd Minor, dean of medicine at Stanford University, in what was billed as a virtual fireside chat.
Fauci added: ¡°Look at the films on TV of people in some states going from shutdown to completely throwing caution to the wind ¡¦ there are things you can do now: physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, washing hands. Those things, as simple as they are, can turn it around.¡±
¡®I think you can trust me¡¯
On Tuesday, Fauci sat for a virtual forum staged by Georgetown University.
He said: ¡°Republican, Democrat, anybody else, we are all in this together. I believe for the most part you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I¡¯m one of them, so I think you can trust me ¡¦ [and other experts] who have a track record of telling the truth.¡±
¡®Stop this nonsense¡¯
On Wednesday, the Atlantic magazine interviewed Fauci about the administration¡¯s pandemic response, Donald Trump and White House aides seeking to undermine him, and his professional future.
¡°It is a bit bizarre,¡± he said. ¡°The divisiveness that¡¯s going on ¡¦ We¡¯ve got to own this, reset this and say, ¡®OK, let¡¯s stop this nonsense. We¡¯ve got to do better.¡±
States and the federal government must be on the same page, Fauci said. ¡°So, rather than these games people are playing, let¡¯s focus on that.¡±
He added: ¡°I just want to do my job ¡¦ and I¡¯m going to keep doing it.¡±
¡®You¡¯re propagating the pandemic¡¯
On Thursday, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg interviewed Fauci on his own platform. Again, the doctor lambasted state lawmakers rushing to reopen and young people crowding bars or staging parties without masks or social distancing.
¡°Time out,¡± he said. ¡°Look what¡¯s happened ¡¦ there really is no reason that we¡¯re having 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 [new US cases a day], other than we are not doing something correctly.¡±
He also told revelers it¡¯s ¡°not just you in a vacuum. You¡¯re propagating the pandemic¡±.
¡®We need to get better control¡¯
On Friday, talking to the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Washington, Fauci said the US had been hit ¡°very severely¡± by the coronavirus. Hospitalizations and deaths are rising. But, Fauci said, controlling Covid-19 and reopening the economy do not have to be mutually exclusive.
¡°We¡¯ve got to have a delicate balance of carefully and prudently going towards normality and opening up at the same time that we contain and not allow these surges,¡± he said.
¡°Staying shut down has economic, employment, health and other negative consequences that are significant [but] we need to get better control.¡±
* China blows up dam in eastern province to ease flood risk
Chinese authorities blew up part of a dam in eastern Anhui province to relieve flood pressure, local media reported, as heavy rains continue to swell rivers across parts of the country. Rising waters across central and eastern China have left over 140 people dead or missing, and floods have affected almost 24 million since the start of July, according to the ministry of emergency management. Authorities have adopted measures such as diverting water into back-up resevoirs to keep levels manageable as major rivers and lakes hit record highs. In Anhui, a dam on the Chu river was demolished Sunday as water levels inched close to historic highs. Local authorities said the action was taken to ensure the safety of people living nearby. "Affected by continuous downpours and upstream flows, the water level of the Chu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, has moved from a slow rise to a sharp one," local media said Monday. The blasting of the dam was expected to reduce the level of the Chu River by around 70 centimetres (28 inches), reported the state-run Global Times. Chinese media said the released water was being channelled into two downstream storage ponds. A total of 35 rivers and lakes in Anhui saw high water marks exceed warning levels by Saturday noon ¡ª including the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers ¡ª reported the official Xinhua news agency. Over the weekend the Three Gorges Dam also opened three floodgates after the water rose more than 15 metres above flood level. Last week soldiers erected sandbag flood barriers in a city near China's largest freshwater lake after the heaviest rainfall in nearly six decades drenched the Yangtze River basin.
* Tap water crisis dents public trust in government
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun ordered the environment ministry, Monday, to "quickly investigate the cause of insect larvae discovered in tap water," but the authorities are unlikely to find answers anytime soon. In an emergency press briefing, an official of the joint investigation team created by the Ministry of Environment and Incheon Metropolitan Government said it would not easy to find exactly where the larvae came from and why they were in the tap water. "There have been very few reports of foreign substances such as insects or worms in tap water, but this time it's not yet clear why suddenly hundreds of cases are taking place simultaneously across the country," a city waterworks official said. "There are no findings that have been studied enough to determine the link to the recent occurrences of particular insects due to global climate change." The Seoul Waterworks Authority said Tuesday a resident living in multiplex housing at Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, reported finding an insect larva in his bathroom. "I turned on the water for about a minute before I took a shower because of the news that larvae are coming out of tap water these days. I took a shower as it seemed to be okay," the resident was quoted as saying by Yonhap. "Then I found a wriggling black larva about one centimeter long while I was cleaning the bathroom floor." On Sunday, the city's water authority received a report that a worm-like organism had been found in a studio apartment in Jung-gu, Seoul, but concluded that it was unlikely the organism entered through water pipes.