Digest for international stories for week Feb 1 - Feb 7, 2020


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 08-02-2020 17:09 IST | Created: 08-02-2020 17:09 IST
Digest for international stories for week Feb 1 - Feb 7, 2020
  • Country:
  • India

Saturday Baghdad: Iraq's president named former communications minister Mohammad Allawi as the country's new prime minister on Saturday after an 11th-hour consensus among political blocs, but the streets seemed divided on his nomination.

Beijing: Several countries, including India, scrambled to evacuate their nationals from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll in China soared to 259 and nearly 12,000 people infected with the deadly virus. London: Maldives was officially readmitted to the Commonwealth on Saturday more than three years after the Indian Ocean archipelago nation quit the organisation over criticism of its human rights record, taking the count of the bloc's membership countries back to 54.

Sunday Beijing/Wuhan: China on Sunday resorted to more drastic measures like isolating coronavirus patients to designated areas and restricting the movement of residents in regions hit by the rapid spreading virus that has killed 305 people and infected over 14,000 others.

Sarmeen (Syria): Air strikes by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally on Sunday killed 14 civilians in the last major opposition bastion of Idlib in the country's northwest, a war monitor said. Tehran: Iranians must have the "right to choose" between different political movements, President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday, as controversy grows over the disqualification of thousands of candidates in upcoming polls.

Monday Beijing/Wuhan: President Xi Jinping on Monday warned officials of punishment if they shirk responsibility in tackling the coronavirus outbreak as China opened a 1,000-bed hospital built in record nine days in Wuhan city and started trials for new drug to contain the virus that has killed 361 people, infected 17,238 others and spread to more than 25 countries.

London: The word Brexit is "over" and is receding behind us into history, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday in his first major speech since the UK formally left the European Union after 47 years of membership following the vote in favour of the divorce deal in June 2016. Beijing/Wuhan: China on Monday opened a 1,000-bed hospital built in record nine days in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the coronavirus, and started clinical trials for a drug to treat the virulent virus as the death toll in the outbreak soared to 361, with 17,238 confirmed cases.

Tuesday Beijing/Wuhan: China's coronavirus outbreak showed no signs of abating as the death toll rose sharply to 426 with more than 20,000 confirmed cases, amid a shocking report of Chinese officials silencing a doctor in Wuhan who first reported the presence of the deadly virus in December last year.

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Tuesday dropped the rendering of the Tamil-version of the national anthem from its Independence Day ceremony for the first time since 2016, raising concerns over the government's policy for national reconciliation after the end of the brutal civil war against the LTTE. Islamabad: Pakistan's Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution expressing "unflinching and unwavering support" to the Kashmiri people and demanding India to reverse its decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Wednesday Ankara: At least 33 people were killed in eastern Turkey Wednesday by a second avalanche which buried a team of rescuers searching for people hit by the first the day before.

Washington: World Bank chief economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg on Wednesday announced she will be leaving the institution, according to a letter sent to colleagues and obtained by AFP. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has committed a "fatal mistake" by revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Thursday Beijing: China on Thursday denounced as "rumours and lies" the reports of a much higher death toll and infected cases in the coronavirus outbreak that it said has killed 564 people as the authorities finished work on a second hospital to treat thousands of patients suffering from the disease.

Washington: The US Senate on Wednesday acquitted President Donald Trump on two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction to Congress - giving him a major political victory in an election year. London: Britain on Thursday appointed career diplomat Philip Barton as its High Commissioner to India to succeed Dominic Asquith.

Friday London: A UK court on Friday directed Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani to pay USD 100 million towards a conditional order granted to three Chinese banks pursuing the recovery of over USD 680 million owed to them as part of a loan agreement.

Beijing: China on Friday mourned the death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak amid widespread public anger against the government for trying to suppress the whistleblower, as Beijing launched a "people's war" against the epidemic that has claimed 637 lives. Washington: Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's ambassador-designate to the United States, has presented his credentials to President Donald Trump who welcomed him at the the White House and wished him success in his new appointment, the Indian embassy here has said.

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

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