World News Roundup: Pompeo, more U.S. action coming to support Guaido; WHO calls emergency meeting in China and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 21-01-2020 05:37 IST | Created: 21-01-2020 05:22 IST
World News Roundup: Pompeo, more U.S. action coming to support Guaido; WHO calls emergency meeting in China and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pompeo says more U.S. action coming to support Venezuelan opposition leader

There will be more action by the United States to support Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, after meeting with Guaido on the sidelines of a regional conference in Bogota. The South American country, which is suffering economic collapse and hyperinflation under the leadership of President Nicolas Maduro, is a failed state, Pompeo said.

As the virus spreads to more Chinese cities, WHO calls emergency meeting

An outbreak of a new coronavirus has spread to more Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing and Shanghai, authorities said on Monday, and a fourth case has been reported beyond China's borders. China's National Health Commission confirmed that the virus, which causes a type of pneumonia, can pass from person-to-person, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Children go missing as Central American migrants clash with Mexican forces

Mexican security forces fired tear gas at rock-hurling Central American migrants who waded across a river into Mexico earlier on Monday, in a chaotic scramble that saw mothers separated from their young children. The clashes between hundreds of U.S.-bound Central Americans and the Mexican National Guard underscores the challenge President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces to contain migration at the bidding of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

Britain's Prince Harry leaves for Canada on Monday evening: The Telegraph

Britain's Prince Harry is understood to have left the United Kingdom for Canada on Monday evening, to be reunited with his wife Meghan Markle and son Archie, The Telegraph reported. Harry had earlier on Monday attended a summit for leaders of 21 African countries in London hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a day after he spoke of his sadness that he would shortly be giving up royal duties.

Australian bushfires fires hit coal output, conditions to worsen

Mining giant BHP Group said on Tuesday that poor air quality caused by smoke from Australia's bushfires is hurting coal production, as authorities cautioned a reprieve from hazardous fire conditions could end within days. The warning from the world's biggest miner underscores how an unusually long bushfire season that has scorched an area one-third the size of Germany is damaging the world's No. 14 economy. Australia's tourism and insurance industries have already foreshadowed they face an A$1 billion ($687 million) hit each from the fires.

Cuban tourism sector braces for further drop in U.S. visitors

In the colonial Cuban city of Trinidad, handicrafts shop owner Lourdes Milan says she has already slashed prices due to the drop in U.S. visitors following Washington's tightening of sanctions and she's worried the situation will worsen this year. Trinidad, five-hour drive east of Havana, was one of the top destinations for the Americans that poured into Cuba after the Obama administration eased decades-old restrictions on travel to the island during a short-lived 2014-2016 detente.

Dutch court holds first hearing in secluded farm family case

A Dutch court will hold the first procedural hearing on Tuesday in the case of a man accused of keeping his family in seclusion for nine years in an isolated farmhouse in the northern Netherlands. The man, 67-year-old Gerrit-Jan van Dorsten, is facing charges of unlawful detention and child abuse. Now ailing after a stroke, he is not expected to attend the pre-trial hearing.

Four protesters, two policemen killed as Iraq unrest resumes

Six Iraqis including two police officers were killed and scores were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces, medical and security sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks. Three protesters succumbed to their wounds at a Baghdad hospital after police fired live rounds in Tayaran Square, the sources said. Two protesters were shot by live bullets while a third was hit by a tear gas canister, they said.

Macron and Trump declare truce in digital tax dispute

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he had a "great discussion" with U.S. President Donald Trump over a digital tax planned by Paris and said the two countries would work together to avoid a rise in tariffs. Macron and Trump agreed to hold off on a potential tariff war until the end of 2020, a French diplomatic source said, and continue negotiations at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the digital tax during that period.

Portugal probes Angola leaks as Eurobic bank distances itself from dos Santos

Portuguese authorities said on Monday they had started investigating media reports concerning Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, while a small bank said it had decided to put an end to commercial relationships with entities she controls. This was the latest fallout from increased scrutiny of Angola's former first daughter, a highly divisive figure in her home country, where she is nicknamed "the Princess" after amassing a fortune estimated at more than $2 billion during her father Jose Eduardo's decades-long presidency.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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