Wednesday 2 September
- Almost 6 months on, millions of pupils go back to school in England.
- Deaths in Colombia pass 20,000.
- Australia enters first recession in 29 years.
- Poor countries desperate for Covid-19 vaccine may be outbid by richer neighbours.
- India added half a million Covid-19 cases in one week: WHO.
- US won’t join global vaccine effort, because it’s led by the WHO.
Almost 6 months on, millions of pupils go back to school in England
BBC News says millions of pupils in England are going back to school after the shutdown linked to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Schools will look different, with one way systems, screens keeping pupils apart and staggered start times.
Many pupils will be given inductions so they understand the new rules, such as staying in their “bubble” groups and where to use social distancing measures.
Read the full story on BBC News
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Deaths in Colombia pass 20,000
The Guardian says confirmed deaths in Colombia due to Covid-19 passed 20,000 on Tuesday, the health ministry said, while it has recorded more than 620,000 cases.
The Andean country has so far reported 20,052 deaths and 624,069 cases of the coronavirus. Active cases stand at 133,155. This week Colombia ended its initial quarantine measures after nearly five months of national lockdowns.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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Australia enters first recession in 29 years
France24 says Australia has entered its first recession since 1991 after the economy shrank 7 per cent in the second quarter, official figures showed Wednesday, as the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said it was the fastest quarterly contraction on record and ends a three-decade run of economic growth that was undented even by the global financial crisis.
Read the full story on France24
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Poor countries desperate for Covid-19 vaccine may be outbid by richer neighbours
Arab News says Richard Hatchett, the head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), is worried.
His job is to ensure that future vaccines against Covid-19 will be shared on an equitable basis around the world, but the United States, Europe and other rich countries have already reserved the first doses for themselves.
“The US is potentially in a situation of oversupply if all of the vaccines that they’ve invested in are successful,” Hatchett told AFP in an interview from London.
Read the full story on Arab News
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India added half a million Covid-19 cases in one week: WHO
Aljazeera says India reported the largest number of new Covid-19 cases of any country in the past week, its nearly half a million new infections pushed the global tally up by 1 per cent.
“South-East Asia has reported the largest week-on-week increase, largely due to increased case detections in India,” the WHO said.
“India has reported nearly 500,000 new cases in the past seven days, a nine per cent increase compared to the previous seven days and the highest numbers of new cases globally.”
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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US won’t join global vaccine effort, because it’s led by the WHO
Forbes says the U.S. announced Tuesday that it would not join an international coalition to find and distribute a Covid-19 vaccine worldwide due to the group’s association with the WHO. It is the latest sign of the Trump administration withdrawing the country from the international health community’s response to the pandemic over political concerns.
“The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization (WHO) and China,” said a spokesman for the White House.
Read the full story on Forbes
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A quick look at the other top stories
Trump visits Kenosha to back police after shooting
BBC News says US President Donald Trump has visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, to back law enforcement after the police shooting of a black man sparked civil strife.
The Republican president blamed “domestic terror” for the “destruction” in the Midwestern city.
France 2015 terror attack: Who are the suspects going on trial?
Euronews says the trial begins on Wednesday for the 14 alleged accomplices in the January 2015 terror attacks on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.
The wave of terror spanning three days in January 2015 saw a total of 17 people killed, including France’s famed cartoonists, police officers and Jewish shoppers.
Angola to increase Covid-19 tests for taxi drivers
Africanews says Angola is perhaps one of the countries best coping with coronavirus pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
Of recent, authorities organised a ceremony to sign an online contract with the Chinese company, BGI Group of Shenzhen organised last Thursday to reinforce the detection capacity of Covid-19 in the country. It is believed taxi drivers are most exposed to the virus.
Turkey slams US decision to lift Cyrus arms embargo
Middle East Eye says Turkey has criticised a US decision to lift a 33-year arms embargo on Cyprus, saying Ankara will take “necessary reciprocal steps” unless Washington reconsiders its decision.
The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision would “adversely affect efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue” and that Ankara expects its Nato ally to “review” it.
Japan’s Suga expected to announce candidacy for PM race
CNA says Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he would hold a news conference on the ruling party’s leadership election later on Wednesday, all but confirming his plan to announce his candidacy in a race he would be heavily favoured to win.
Suga, a longtime aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has privately indicated his intention to stand for leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a source told Reuters earlier.
