Author: WTX News

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 20,257,466 DEATHS: 738,956 RECOVERED: 13,121,562 …………………………………… Universities told to hold places open until September 7 appeal deadline BBC News says universities in England are being told to keep places open for students if they appeal against A-level results. Amid uncertainty about replacement exam grades, Universities Minister Michelle Donelan has urged university heads to be as “flexible as possible”. It means if students miss the required grades but successfully appeal, they could still start next term. “Nobody should have to put their future on hold because of the virus,” said Ms Donelan. Read the full story…

The Israeli government has threatened to destroy a Palestinian family’s home, built inside a cave with a wooden door opening onto cushion-lined rooms, in the foothills overlooking Farasin, in Palestine. Ahmed Amarneh’s home, built in a cave with a wooden door opening into cushion-lined rooms, is not the first Palestinian residence in the occupied West Bank to receive a demolition notice from Israel. But it may be the first built inside a cave which the Jewish state has threatened to destroy. Amarneh, a 30-year-old civil engineer, lives with his family in the northern West Bank village of Farasin, where Israel…

Volunteers desperately trying to keep 4,000-tonne oil spill away from Mauritius  Volunteers are scrambling to create cordons to keep leaking oil from a ship away from the island of Mauritius.  The ship was believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of oil, it ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25 July.  Locals are making barriers of straws stuffed into fabric sacks in an attempt to absorb the oil.  Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and tourism is a crucial part of its economy.  Images online show volunteers collecting straw from fields and filling…

Mass resignation of Lebanese government expected Monday The Lebanese government is heading toward a mass resignation on Monday following the horrific explosion in Beirut.  The explosion killed more than 150 people and left at least 6,000 wounded with hundreds of thousands left homeless.  The explosion has further fueled public anger after it was confirmed authorities knew the huge pile of ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port for six years, with people already enraged by government corruption, incompetence and negligence.  Several ministers have already discussed the possibility of stepping down – with Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad announcing her…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 20,026,161 DEATHS: 734,020 RECOVERED: 12,900,625 …………………………………… Covid-19: only 53% of Britons would definitely have vaccination  The Guardian says only half the population of Britain definitely would accept being vaccinated against Covid-19. That is the shock conclusion of a group of scientists and pollsters who have found that only 53% of a test group of citizens said they would be certain or very likely to allow themselves to be given a vaccine against the disease if one becomes available. Read the full story on The Guardian  …………………………………… Little evidence of school transmission – minister BBC News…

Angry Lebanese vow new protests over deadly blast that killed 158, following a night of clashes Lebanese protesters are enraged by official negligence blamed for the deadly Beirut blast and have vowed to rally again after a night of street clashes in which they stormed several ministries.  “Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn’t end in one day,” warned one message circulating on social media in response to the explosion.  The calls for new protests came as French President Macron was to oversee a UN-backed virtual donors conference to raise aid for Lebanon, a country already mired in a painful…

Afghanistan to release 400 ‘hardcore’ Taliban paving the way to ‘peace-talks’ Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending a more than 19-year war.  US President Donald Trump has been putting on the pressure for a deal to allow him to bring home US troops leading to the war-torn country’s grand assembly approving the release.  “In order to remove an obstacle, allow the start of the peace process and an end of bloodshed, the Loya Jirga approves the release of 400 Taliban,” the assembly said.  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani…

In today’s briefing update, the Sunday Papers lead with the PM’s plans to open schools in September, warning children will suffer more harm by staying at home. Other front pages lead with a warning of a second lockdown in September and France asking the UK for £30m to police the Channel.   In our special feature, we look at global coronavirus updates.  ……………………………………… PM’s school plans: Children suffer more harm by staying at home The Sunday Times says Boris Johnson is set to warn parents that keeping children home is a far greater threat to their wellbeing than Covid-19. The paper…

Lebanon hit with anti-govt protests after Beirut blast, police use tear gas Lebanese security forces late Thursday fired tear gas to disperse dozens of anti-government protesters angered by the Beirut blast that has killed over 157, injured over 4000 and has leftover 250,000 homeless.  The devastating blast is widely seen as the most shocking expression yet of their government’s incompetence.  The protests in central Beirut took place in a street leading to parliament, the area is still heavily littered with debris and wreckage from Tuesday’s explosion.  Protesters had sparked a blaze, vandalised stores and lobbed stones at security forces, according…

Trump bans US transactions with Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat President Trump has issued executive orders banning any US transactions with ByteDance – the Chinese company that owns the app TikTok, and Tencent, owner of the WeChat app, starting in 45 days.  https://twitter.com/ccjanetang/status/1291546392935235586 The orders issued on Thursday come as the Trump administration said this week it was stepping up efforts to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps from US digital networks and called the Chinese-owned app TikTok and messenger app WeChat “significant threats.”  In one of the orders, Trump said the TIkiTok app may be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 19,261,406 DEATHS: 717,717 RECOVERED: 12,363,249 …………………………………… Safety concerns halt the use of 50 million NHS masks BBC News says fifty million face masks bought by the UK government in April will not be used in the NHS because of safety concerns. The government says the masks, which use ear-loop fastenings rather than head loops, may not fit tightly enough. They were bought for NHS England healthcare workers from supplier Ayanda Capital as part of a £252m contract. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Another shutdown risks thousands of deaths in Covid-19 second-wave The…

Beirut explosion: 250,000 homeless as officials deflect blame for the explosion Hundreds of thousands of people in Beirut are facing another night of uncertainty following the massive explosion that destroyed their homes and prompted a two-week state of emergency.  The massive port explosion in the Lebanese capital has displaced some 250,000 people and caused up to  $5bn in damage, Governor Marwan Abboud told local media.  As of Wednesday, the confirmed death toll had topped 130 people with some 5,000 others wounded.  Lebanon has asked the international community to support the country which is already in a major economic crisis and…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 18,979,672 DEATHS: 711,271 RECOVERED: 12,171,222 …………………………………… Ethnic minorities ‘overexposed’ to Covid-19 BBC News says ethnic minorities in Britain “face greater barriers” when trying to protect themselves from coronavirus, according to a report. The Runnymede Trust, a race equality think-tank, said Bangladeshi and black African people were most vulnerable. Jobs, households and using public transport are all said to be risk factors. The government said it is working to help ethnic minorities, who have been disproportionately harmed by Covid-19. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Facebook, Twitter remove Trump posts after he says children…

Beirut wakes to scenes of devastation after a horrific port explosion, over 100 dead, thousands wounded Wednesday morning sees residents of Beirut waking to utter devastation, a day after a massive explosion at the port, residents begin to mourn the deaths of at least 100 people and the thousands wounded.   Smoke was still visible from the port where a towering grain silo had been shattered. The streets littered with debris, building facades have been blown out and damaged vehicles scattered around. At hospitals across the city, people have been waiting all night to hear news of loved ones who had…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 18,708,865 DEATHS: 704,438 RECOVERED: 11,925,744 …………………………………… UK ‘made serious mistake’ over border policy BBC News says the spread of Covid-19 in the UK could have been slowed if quarantine restrictions on arrivals had been introduced earlier, a group of MPs has said.  The Home Affairs committee said a lack of border measures earlier in the pandemic was a “serious mistake.” It added ministers had underestimated the threat of importing the virus from Europe as opposed to Asia. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Global death toll passes 700,000 as Europe faces second wave…

Millions back in lockdown in the Philippines after surge in Covid-19 cases and WHO issues vaccine warning The Philippines has found itself back in lockdown, with millions ordered to stay home on Tuesday, following a surge in global Covid-19 cases and the WHO has warned against relying on a vaccine “silver bullet” to end the pandemic.  More than 18 million people worldwide have been recorded to be infected with the virus since it first emerged in China late last year, and it shows no signs of slowing down.  The Philippines – desperate to contain the spread and relieve pressure on…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 18,447,723 DEATHS: 697,244 RECOVERED: 11,680,369 …………………………………… GCSE students allowed to drop topics in 2021 exams BBC News says GCSE students in England will be able to drop subject areas in history and English literature 2021 exams. It follows concern that schools may not be able to cover all the topics after teaching was disrupted by the pandemic. But headteachers said the proposal only amounted to “tinkering at the edges” when students could face “widespread ongoing disruption”. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Pubs likely to be spared new Covid-19 restrictions, No 10 says…

Lebanon’s foreign minister steps down amid economic crisis Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti has resigned, becoming the first cabinet minister to quit his post amid the severe economic and financial crisis crippling the country.  Hitti submitted his resignation to the prime minister and left without making any comments. He was reportedly unhappy with the government’s performance and lack of movement on promised reforms.  Local media reports said Hitti was also angered by PM Diab’s criticism of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian following his visit to Beirut last month. Diab has said Le Brian “did not bring anything new” and…

Data leak reveals Iran covered up Covid-19 deaths Iran has covered up the true number of deaths from Covid-19 a BBC Persian service investigation has found. The number of actual deaths is nearly triple what the Iranian government is claiming.  The government’s own records appear to show almost 42,000 people died with Covid-19 symptoms up to 20 July, versus 14.405 reported by its health ministry.  The number of those infected is also almost double its official figure: 452,024 as opposed to 278,827. Iran has been one of the worst-hit countries outside of China.  In the last few weeks, it has…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 18,238,195 DEATHS: 692,872 RECOVERED: 11,449,659 …………………………………… New Covid-19 tests give results in 90 mins BBC News says new 90-minute tests that can detect coronavirus and flu will be rolled out in care homes and laboratories from next week. The “on-the-spot” swab and DNA tests will help distinguish between Covid-19 and other seasonal illnesses, the government said. The health secretary said this would be “hugely beneficial” over the winter. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Major incident declared in Manchester after rise in Covid-19 transmission The Guardian says a major incident has been declared…

In today’s briefing update, the Sunday Papers report on the Tory MP quizzed by police over sexual assault allegations, the government’s blueprint to avoid a second lockdown and leaked emails revealing officers’ fears of a rouge SAS evacuation squad. In our special feature, we look at global coronavirus updates.  ……………………………………… Tory MP quizzed by police over sex attack The Mail on Sunday says a conservative MP has been questioned by police following allegations of rape and sexual assault. The paper says the former minister, who has not been named, is accused of sexual assault and was questioned at a London…

Kylie and Kendall Jenner endorse fake Apple products on Instagram  BBC Click has discovered that dozens of influencers including Kylie and Kendall Jenner have been promoting the sale of fake Apple Airpods on Instagram.  The two sisters have a combined following of 322 million followers on the social media platform.  Apple says cloned earphones may infringe its intellectual property rights, but is now pursuing a case against the Jenner sisters.  But Apple has in the past taken action against influencers believed to be promoting “knock off” AirPods.  Kylie and Kendall Jenner declined to comment.  “Knock off” tech BBC Click’s investigation…

iPhone 12 release date delayed  The release of the iPhone 12 will be delayed Apple has confirmed.  Apple usually reveals the new iPhone in September and then release it a couple of weeks later. But the company has now confirmed they won’t be able to follow the usual schedule, with the iPhone 12 release seemingly being pushed into October.  “Last year we started selling new iPhones in late September, this year we expect supply to be available a few weeks later,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer, told investors in a call following the company’s results. Apple rarely discusses the…

Fiji records its first Covid-19 death but says the virus is not present in Fijian communities On Friday Fiji announced its first coronavirus death, but health officials are telling the people in the Pacific island nation that it was not the precursor to a major outbreak.  Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said the victim was a 66-year-old man who tested positive after returning from India where he had gone to have heart surgery.  “Sadly, despite the best efforts of our health -care professionals, this gentleman passed away yesterday in the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital due to complications from Covid-19,” Waqainabete…

GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY CORONAVIRUS CASES: 17,481,953 DEATHS: 676,824 RECOVERED: 10,941,906 …………………………………… …………………………………… Visiting people at home banned in Northern England BBC News says separate households have been banned from meeting each other indoors in Greater Manchester, east Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire following a spike in coronavirus cases. The health secretary said the increase in transmission was “largely due” to people not observing social distancing. Labour criticised the government for a lack of clarity over the measures and for announcing them “late at night”. Read the full story on BBC News …………………………………… Companies ready to defy PM’s planned return…