Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Voting in a local election being held in defiance of Ethiopia’s federal government in the Tigray region started.
- AMERICAS: US President Donald Trump is expected to announce a further drawdown of US troops from Iraq.
- ASIA: Afghanistan’s Vice President Amrullah Saleh survived a roadside bomb that targeted him in Kabul, but left at least 10 other people dead.
- EUROPE: Greece’s largest migrant camp, situated on the island of Lesbos, was destroyed by a massive fire.
- MIDDLE EAST: The US blacklisted two former Lebanese ministers for corruption and conspiring with Hezbollah.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: China accused Australia of sending agents to raid the homes of Chinese journalists in June, just one day after two Australian journalists fled from China.
Top Story
- United Kingdom: AstraZeneca temporarily pauses coronavirus vaccine trials.
- Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca temporarily paused trials of the coronavirus vaccine it is developing with the Oxford University.
- AstraZeneca paused the trials, which the company called a routine action, after one participant developed an unexplained illness.
- The jointly developed vaccine was until now considered to be the leading coronavirus vaccine candidate.
- AstraZeneca paused their trials on the same day as the company and eight other drug makers jointly pledged to move ahead with coronavirus vaccines only after vetting the vaccines for safety and efficacy.
- Reporting: BBC, Reuters, NYT, AP, AFP
Africa
- Ethiopia: Voting in a local election being held in defiance of the federal government in the Tigray region started. (AP)
- Somalia: The country’s breakaway Somaliland region opened a representative office in Taiwan. (AP)
- Zimbabwe: The country’s largest nurses’ union encouraged its members to end a three-month old pay strike, as the union wants to give Vice President Constantino Chiwenga an opportunity to resolve the dispute. (Reuters)
Americas
- Mexico: The governmental offices for the Human Rights Commission were taken over by a group of feminists and crime victims who pledged to turn the facilities into a shelter for victims. (AP)
- Panama: Authorities called for bids on a $2 billion package of water supply projects that seek to combat droughts affecting the freshwater lakes that supply the Panama Canal’s locks. (AP)
- United States: President Donald Trump is expected to announce a further drawdown of US troops from Iraq. (Reuters)
Asia
- Afghanistan: Vice President Amrullah Saleh survived a roadside bomb that targeted him in Kabul, but left at least 10 other people dead. (Reuters)
- China: More than 300 civil society groups urged the UN to create an international watchdog to address human rights violations by the country’s government. (AP)
- Thailand: The government conducted coronavirus tests for nearly 600 people who were possibly exposed to the country’s first new domestic coronavirus case in three months, but found no new infections. (Reuters)
Europe
- Belarus: Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich accused the government of terrorizing their fellow citizens as opposition politician Maxim Znak became the latest opposition figure to be detained by masked men in plain clothes. (Reuters)
- Belgium: Dutch-speaking Liberal Egbert Lachaert, who is a key negotiator in the efforts to create a coalition government in the country, tested positive for the coronavirus, stymying government creation talks. (AP)
- Greece: The country’s largest migrant camp, situated on the island of Lesbos, was destroyed by a massive fire. (BBC)
Middle East
- Iran: The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained by the country’s authorities in Tehran, called upon the British government to do “everything to protect her” after Tehran announced that she faces fresh charges. (AFP)
- Lebanon: The US blacklisted two former ministers for corruption and conspiring with Hezbollah. (UPI)
- United Arab Emirates: The government will now allow small and medium-sized businesses to use assets such as tools and raw materials as collateral for loans, as the country faces an economic downturn due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Media: China accused Australia of sending agents to raid the homes of Chinese journalists in June, just one day after two Australian journalists fled from China. (AFP)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 09SEP20: 26,331,492
- Total Recovered Cases as of 09SEP20: 17,541,744
- Deaths as of 09SEP20: 869,290
- Countries with Confirmed Cases: 188
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (11th Ebola outbreak figures from Equateur Province)
- Confirmed Cases as of 30AUG20: 103
- Probable Cases as of 30AUG20: 6
- Deaths as of 30AUG20: 47
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (10SEP20)
- Global: The Employment Ministers of G20 countries will hold a virtual meeting.
- Americas: The CAF Development Bank of Latin America will hold its annual conference online. (to 11SEP)
- Asia: ASEAN Foreign Ministers will hold a series of virtual meetings. (to 12SEP)
- Europe: Belarusian, Russian and Serbian armed forces will hold military exercises in Belarus. (to 15SEP)
- Russia: Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member-states will meet in Moscow.
END
