World News Roundup: Global coronavirus deaths exceed 700,000;Beirut reels from huge blast and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Special Report: COVID opens new doors for China's gene giant

As countries scramble to test for the novel coronavirus, a Chinese company has become a go-to name around the world. BGI Group, described in one 2015 study as "Goliath" in the fast-growing field of genomics research, is using an opening created by the pandemic to expand its footprint globally. In the past six months, it says it has sold 35 million rapid COVID-19 testing kits to 180 countries and built 58 labs in 18 countries. Some of the equipment has been donated by BGI's philanthropic arm, promoted by China's embassies in an extension of China's virus diplomacy.

Beirut reels from huge blast, as death toll climbs to at least 100

Lebanese rescue workers dug through the mangled wreckage of buildings on Wednesday looking for survivors after a massive warehouse explosion sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 100 people and injuring nearly 4,000. Officials said the toll was expected to rise after Tuesday's blast at port warehouses that stored highly explosive material.

Giant of Northern Ireland peace Hume laid to rest in small service

Northern Ireland peacemaker John Hume was remembered for his unshakeable commitment to non-violence at a small funeral on Wednesday where the pope, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and fellow Nobel Laureate, the Dalai Lama, sent messages of support. Hume, the Roman Catholic architect of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that ended 30 years of sectarian violence, was credited with dragging a British region convulsed by bloodshed to the negotiating table. He died on Monday aged 83.

Swiss add Spain except islands to places requiring quarantine

Swiss health authorities have added Spain with exception of the Balearic and Canary Islands to its list of countries from which people arriving must enter a 10-day quarantine period to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Patrick Mathys, head of crisis management for the federal public health office, told a briefing in Bern on Wednesday the measure would take effect from Saturday.

Scotland shuts pubs and restaurants in Aberdeen to stem COVID-19 outbreak

Scotland imposed new restrictions on the oil city of Aberdeen on Wednesday to tackle an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, closing pubs and restaurants and ordering visitors to stay away. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said an outbreak in the city had now accounted for a total of 54 known cases in recent days, and that in the last 24 hours there had been 64 new cases across the whole of Scotland.

Petitions and memes target former king Juan Carlos after he leaves Spain

Students in Madrid want their King Juan Carlos University to change its name, a few towns plan the same for parks or streets, and memes mocking the former monarch are circulating widely after he left the country amid a corruption scandal. The constitution, political fragmentation and opinion polls that for years have shown the population is divided on the issue mean the latest scandal is unlikely to change Spain's political system soon.

Croatia, joined by minority Serb leader, marks 25 years since independence war victory

Croatia marked on Wednesday the 25th anniversary of its decisive victory in the 1991-95 independence war, for the first time joined by a top representative of the Serb minority to underline progress in overcoming a legacy of ethnic hatred. The annual rite, gathering top state and military officials and war veterans, was again staged in the southern hill town of Knin, the former bastion of rebel Serbs who opposed Zagreb's 1991 secession from Serbian-dominated federal Yugoslavia.

Portugal's Azores breached constitution by imposing quarantine on visitors

Portugal's Azores Islands, some 1,400 km from the Portuguese coast, breached the national constitution by forcing air passengers to the popular tourist destination to quarantine for 14 days, the country's Constitutional Court has ruled. The court said authorities on the islands had treated people as if they were serving a short prison sentence by confining them in hotels, regardless of whether they had symptoms.

Global coronavirus deaths exceed 700,000, one person dies every 15 seconds on average

The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise in fatalities. Nearly 5,900 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19 on average, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the past two weeks.

Ukraine leader hopes Minsk will hand over suspected Russian mercenaries to Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped Belarus would hand over suspected Russian mercenaries to Ukraine for future prosecution. "I hope that the suspects in terrorist activities on the territory of #Ukraine will be handed over to us for criminal prosecution in accordance with current international legal documents," Zelenskiy said on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)