Timeline 2020 July - September Return to home
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, US federal
prosecutors sought to seize four tankers sailing toward Venezuela
with gasoline supplied by Iran. The four tankers named in a
complaint filed today — the Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna — are
currently transporting to Venezuela 1.1 million barrels of gasoline
obtained via risky ship-to-ship transfers.
   (AP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey told VP Mike Pence that the state needed an additional 500
health care workers as the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to
set records there.
   (Yahoo News, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, California
dramatically rolled back efforts to reopen its economy, banning
indoor restaurant dining in much of the state, closing bars and
stepping up enforcement of the restrictions as COVID-19 infections
surge. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered 19 counties with surging
coronavirus outbreaks to shut public venues in an effort to keep the
pandemic from spiraling out of control.
   (Reuters, 7/1/20)(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, San Francisco
police said they will stop releasing the mug shots of people who
have been arrested unless they pose a threat to the public, as part
of an effort to stop perpetuating racial stereotypes.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Los Angeles city
leaders voted to slash the Police Department budget by $150 million,
reducing the number of officers to a level not seen for more than a
decade amid nationwide demands to shift money away from law
enforcement agencies during America's reckoning over police
brutality and racial injustice.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, California to date
had 232,466 cases of coronavirus and 6,088 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 25,935 cases and 583 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,658,324 with the death toll at 127,681.
   (sfist.com, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, A Delaware sate
official said an old whipping post that was used "disproportionally
on Blacks" has been removed from outside the Old Sussex County
Courthouse in Georgetown. It was reportedly last used in 1952.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y7ggxccy)(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In Virginia work
crews wielding a giant crane, harnesses and power tools wrested an
imposing statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its concrete pedestal
along Richmond's famed Monument Avenue.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Seattle police
turned out in force at the city's “occupied” protest zone, tore down
demonstrators' encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters
after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal
shootings in less than two weeks.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, New research was
reported that damage done by the coronavirus to the membranes of red
blood cells that carry oxygen may explain why many COVID-19 patients
have alarmingly low oxygen levels.
   (Reuters, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, The healthcare unit
of US supermarket chain Kroger Co said the US Food and Drug
Administration had issued emergency use authorization for its
at-home sample collection kit for COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, It was reported
that Facebook has banned an extremist anti-government network
loosely associated with the broader "boogaloo" movement, a slang
term supporters use to refer to a second Civil War or the collapse
of civilization.
   (SFC, 7/1/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, It was reported
that some 350 elephant carcasses have been found in the Okavango
Delta of Botswana over the last two months. It was unknown why the
animals are dying.
   (BBC, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Britain announced
that it was extending residency rights for up to 3 million Hong
Kongers eligible for the British National Overseas passport,
stressing that it would uphold its historic duty to the former
British colony after Beijing imposed a sweeping new national
security law in the city.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
 2020      Jul 1, In Canada a
string of shootings began in Winnipeg on the Canada Day national
holiday. Unrelated shootings claimed the life of one woman and saw
five others injured in a series of incidents. A teen suspect (14)
was arrested the following afternoon in the North Kildonian
neighborhood.
   (The Independent, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, The Chinese
Communist Party celebrated its 99th anniversary by saying its
success in containing Covid-19 proved its superiority and that of
the country's socialist system.
   (South China Morning Post, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Sina Weibo, China's
answer to Twitter, said it had deleted Indian PM Narendra Modi's
account at the request of the Indian embassy, as tensions between
the two countries continue to simmer over a border skirmish.
   (The Telegraph, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, It was reported
that more than 50 people have been killed in Ethiopia in unrest
following the June 29 death of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular singer,
sparked huge protests in the Oromia region. The death toll was soon
raised to over 80. By one count the July riots left 239 people
killed.
   (AP, 7/1/20)(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A5)(Econ., 9/19/20,
p.45)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Germany took the
helm of the EU's rotating presidency. Chancellor Angela Merkel
warned that the European Union must prepare for the possibility that
talks with Britain on their post-Brexit relationship could fail.
   (AFP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, German biotech firm
BioNTech and US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said a jointly developed
COVID-19 vaccine has shown potential and was found to be well
tolerated in early-stage human trials.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In Hong Kong
protests against a new national-security law imposed by China on
Hong Kong flared up. Thousands attended the illegal protests marking
the 23rd anniversary of return to Chinese rule. About 370 people
were arrested including ten for violating the security law that came
into force at 11 p.m. the day before.
   (AP, 7/2/20)(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, India reported
18,653 new cases of the coronavirus and 507 deaths over the last 24
hours. Total cases reached 585,493.
   (SFC, 7/2/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Israel's parliament
approved a law granting the country's internal security agency
limited authority to use phone surveillance to track coronavirus
cases as the country struggles to contain a second outbreak.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In central Mexico
gunmen burst into an unregistered drug rehabilitation center and
opened fire in Irapuato, Guanajuato state, killing 24 people and
wounding seven. Drug gangs appeared to have been involved.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Russians with
children received cash payments on the final day of a vote on
constitutional changes that could allow Vladimir Putin to stay in
power until 2036. State exit polls suggested the changes will be
backed by over two thirds of voters. Nenets, an autonomous region on
the edge of the Arctic Ocean, was the only region in Russia out of
85 to reject the proposals, with more than 55 percent voting
against. Voters approved a package of constitutional amendments, one
of them stipulating that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
   (Reuters, 7/1/20)(AFP, 7/8/20)(AP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, In South Africa
some protesters against Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial burned
their face masks as experts note a worrying level of resistance and
misinformation around testing on the continent.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Taiwan's foreign
ministry said Taiwan and Somaliland have agreed to establish ties
based on “friendship and a shared commitment to common values of
freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law." The two countries
signed a bilateral agreement in Taipei on Feb. 26. Taiwan has been
providing scholarships to students from the region of 3.9 million
people.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Uganda opened part
of its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow in
thousands of people stuck in no-man's land for more than a month.
   (BBC, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, The UN Security
Council demanded an “immediate cessation of hostilities” in key
conflicts including Syria, Yemen, Libya, South Sudan and Congo to
tackle COVID-19 in its first resolution on the new coronavirus.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, US President Donald
Trump at a press briefing celebrated a government report showing the
country gained 4.8 million jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to
11.1% last month. A separate report today said that 1.43 million
Americans filed for unemployment benefits during the final week of
June.
   (Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, The US Supreme
Court in a 5-4 decision blocked a lower court ruling allowing
curbside voting in Alabama and waiving some absentee ballot
requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   (AP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A US judge ordered
Iran to pay another $879.1 million over a 1996 bombing in Saudi
Arabia that killed 19 US airmen, ruling again that Tehran bore
responsibility.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, The United States
reported more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases, the largest daily
increase any country has ever reported.
   (Reuters, 72/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, High Downs (99),
American TV news and game show pioneer, died at his home in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
   (SFC, 7/3/20, p.A8)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, California to date
had 246,841 cases of coronavirus and 6,264 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 26,854 cases and 590 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,739,879 with the death toll at 128,740.
   (sfist.com, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Florida shattered
records when it reported over 10,000 new coronavirus cases, the
biggest one-day increase in the state since the pandemic started. In
June, Florida infections rose by 168% or over 95,000 new cases. The
percent of tests coming back positive has skyrocketed to 15% from 4%
at the end of May.
   (Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In New Jersey
casinos reopened in Atlantic City following a 108-day closure due to
the coronavirus. Gamblers wore facemasks and di without smoking and
drinking.
   (SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A New York
appellate judge ruled that Simon & Schuster could release a
tell-all book by Mary Trump, the president’s niece, reversing a
lower court.
   (NY Times, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, US federal
prosecutors in New York said Swiss-based Novartis will pay $678
million to settle a fraud suit. The pharmaceutical company admitted
to using an extensive kickback program for nearly a decade to
influence doctors to prescribe certain medications.
   (SFC, 7/3/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Texas Governor Greg
Abbott decreed that face masks must be worn in all counties with
over 20 coronavirus cases, billing the measure as a requirement to
avoid another economic shutdown.
   (Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, British socialite
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire by the FBI on
charges she helped procure underage sex partners for financier
Jeffrey Epstein.
   (AP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Jonathan Irons
(40), a Missouri man serving a 50-year sentence for burglary and
assault, was freed after his sentence was overturned. Maya Moore,
the W.N.B.A. star, helped lead the campaign to free him.
   (NY Times, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, GlaxoSmithKline's
HIV business ViiV said it is within weeks of resubmitting its
request for approval of its long-acting injection Cabenuva to US
drug regulators.
   (Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A British judge
refused a request by Venezuela's Pres. Nicolas Maduro who sought the
return of $1.8 billion in gold bars sitting in the Bank of England
to help his nation fight the coronavirus pandemic. The UK has
recognized Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader.
   (SFC, 7/2/20, p.A4)(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, European
law-enforcement agencies said they had infiltrated a secret global
criminal chat system used to plot the murder of rival criminals,
money laundering, and the selling of illegal goods.
   (Business Insider, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, An anti-China
protester in Hong Kong was pulled from a flight to London and
arrested on suspicion of stabbing a police officer the day before.
   (Business Insider, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In India the number
of coronavirus infections surpassed 600,000, resulting in 17,834
deaths as authorities battled to contain the pandemic while easing
lockdown rules.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In Iran a fire and
an explosion struck a building above Iran's underground Natanz
nuclear enrichment facility early today, a site that US-based
analysts identified as a new centrifuge production plant. The fire
appeared to have been the result of sabotage. A previously unknown
group calling itself the Homeland Cheetahs, apparently a dissident
group, claimed responsibility for the incident.
   (AP, 7/2/20)(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Mexico posted a
record daily tally of infections, as 6,741 cases carried the overall
figure to 238,511.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In northern Myanmar
at least 162 people were killed in a landslide at a jade mine, the
worst in a series of deadly accidents at such sites in recent years
that critics blame on the government's failure to take action
against unsafe conditions.
   (AP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Russia's Central
Elections Commission announced early today that nearly 78 percent of
voters had cast their ballot in favor of the changes to the
constitution that could see Putin, 67, remain in power until 2036.
The opposition and Western leaders voiced criticism over suspected
poll violations.
   (AFP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, It was reported
that dozens of US embassy employees in Saudi Arabia became sick last
month, and more than 20 others were quarantined after a birthday
barbecue became a potential vector for the spread of the disease. A
Sudanese driver for the top diplomats died.
   (NY Times, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Serbia reported 359
cases of the coronavirus and six deaths in the last 24 hours. In
total Serbia has recorded more than 15,200 cases and nearly 290
deaths.
   (SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Sweden said that
Iran has agreed to compensate the families of victims who were
killed when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian forces
outside Tehran on January 8.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Thailand said it
would prohibit online sales of alcohol in a clampdown on underage
drinking after a rise in sales during the coronavirus outbreak.
   (Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In Uganda Hussein
Walugembe (29), a motorbike taxi rider, died after setting fire to
himself inside a police station. Mr Walugembe had lent his motorbike
to a friend, who was caught ferrying a passenger on June 29. Some
riders alleged that officers had demanded a $40 (£32) bribe from
Walugembe to release his vehicle.
   (BBC, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A UN annual report
said the world's mountain of discarded flat-screen TVs, cellphones
and other electronic goods grew to a record high last year.
   (AP, 7/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A UN report said
there have been at least 1,324 additional violent deaths carried out
in Venezuela by Pres. Maduro’s hit squads during “security
operations” between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2020.
   (Miami Herald, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In Yemen the
Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels unleashed a new air
campaign overnight on the war-torn country's capital and on other
provinces, in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi Arabia that
were claimed by the rebels.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In South Dakota
President Donald Trump dug deeper into America's divisions by
accusing protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging
in a “merciless campaign to wipe out our history” during a speech at
Mount Rushmore. Trump said he will establish a “National Garden of
American Heroes… a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues
of the greatest Americans who ever lived.” Supporters, most of them
maskless flouted public health guidelines that recommend not
gathering in large groups.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, US prosecutors said
Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, a Nigerian man charged with conspiring to
launder a fortune from email scams, has arrived in Chicago to face
charges. UAE authorities arrested Abbas last month. Abbas, aka
Hushpuppi, had showed off his wealth to 2.4 million Instagram
followers. Hushpuppi, and another cyber-heist suspect Olalekan Jacob
Ponle (aka Mr Woodberry) appeared in a Chicago court. They had been
arrested in Dubai, where they lived, in June. Dubai police said they
had been extradited to the US.
   (NBC News, 7/4/20)(BBC, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, The US set another
record with 52,300 newly reported coronavirus infections, according
to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Colorado interim
police chief Vanessa Wilson said the police officers who took
disturbing photos at the memorial site where Elijah McClain was
placed in a police chokehold and later died have all been terminated
from the Aurora Police Department. McClain (23) died on August 30,
2019, days after police confronted him as he walked home from a
convenience store.
   (ABC News, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, California
officials said the coronavirus is suspected of killing two more
death row inmates at San Quentin State Prison, where about 40% of
inmates are now infected.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, California to date
had 250,431 cases of coronavirus and 6,312 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 27,745 cases and 595 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,793,022 with the death toll at 129,405.
   (sfist.com, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In California Ari
Gershman (45), a Danville doctor, was shot and killed while
off-roading with his son near Downieville in Sierra County. The
unnamed gunman was arrested a day later. The son escaped into the
wilderness and spent 30 hours in the Tahoe National Forest before a
search party found him. Police the following day arrested John
Thomas Conway (40) of Honcut, a rural community in Butte County.
Conway was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.B1)(SFC, 7/9/20, p.B2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Florida
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued a new overnight curfew
effective immediately closing casinos, movie theaters and other
entertainment venues to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Tennessee Gov. Bill
Lee signed an executive order that allows local officials to issue
their own mask mandates if they want, as coronavirus cases continued
to increase.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Medical technology
company Becton Dickinson and Co said it received an order from the
UK government for 65 million injection devices to support Britain's
COVID-19 vaccination program.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Los Angeles-based
company, formally known as Lucky Brand Dungarees, LLC, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to millions of dollars in outstanding
debts owed to lenders.
   (Good Morning America, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi said their rheumatoid arthritis drug
Kevzara failed to meet the main goals of a US study testing it in
the most critically ill COVID-19 patients.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Zydus, part of
Cadila Healthcare Ltd, said it has received approval from Indian
regulators to begin human studies for its COVID-19 vaccine
contender, as the novel coronavirus infections continue to surge in
the world's fourth worst-hit nation.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Australia reported
a drop in new coronavirus cases, with a surge in the second most
populated state Victoria appearing to have eased, although more than
10,000 people have refused to be tested in hotspot suburbs of
Melbourne.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Bolivia has
reported more than 32,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than
1,000 deaths. Cases were expected to peak around the time of
presidential elections planned for September.
   (SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Botswana said it is
investigating a staggeringly high number of elephant carcasses — 275
— found in the popular Okavango Delta area in recent weeks. A day
earlier Botswana's government announced “an alarming surge of
rhinoceros poaching in the Okavango Delta” in recent days.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, It was reported
that distressed British satellite constellation operator OneWeb,
which had entered bankruptcy protection proceedings at the end of
March, has completed a sale process, with a consortium led by the UK
Government as the winner. The group includes funding from India's
Bharti Global.
   (TechCrunch, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, China reported
three new coronavirus cases in the mainland, compared with five
cases a day earlier.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, It became clear
that Graziano Mesina (78) had fled Corsica after the supreme court
in Rome turned down an appeal against a 30-year sentence for drug
trafficking.
   (Econ., 7/11/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, The European
Commission said it had given conditional approval for the use of
antiviral remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients following an
accelerated review process, making it the region's first authorized
therapy to treat the virus.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, French President
Emmanuel Macron named Jean Castex, who coordinated France’s virus
reopening strategy, as the country's new prime minister, replacing
Edouard Philippe, who resigned earlier in the day.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, The Paris appeals
court upheld a decision to end a years-long investigation into the
plane crash that sparked Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, citing lack of
sufficient evidence.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, German scientists
began a nationwide study to gain a better overview of the actual
prevalence of the new coronavirus in the country's population and
test how well measures to prevent its spread are working.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, India reported
another single-day record high of new coronavirus cases. The new
20,903 cases took the national total to 625,544. Another 379 deaths
took that total to 18,213.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Two Israeli defence
contractors said they will partner with Abu Dhabi-based technology
company Group 42 to develop technologies to help fight the new
coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Tokyo reported 124
new cases, up from 107 the day before, partly due to increased
testing among nightlife workers in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro
districts.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Malian officials
said armed men attacked farming villages in the central Mopti region
this week, killing at least 33 people. Fulani armed groups have been
targeting Dogon farmers and Dogon farmers have been responsible for
attacks on Fulani villages in the region.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, The Mexican
government said it has formally joined the Int'l. Labor
Organization's Convention 189 on the rights of domestic workers.
C189 entered into force on 5 September 2013. This makes Mexico the
thirtieth member State of the ILO and the seventeenth member State
in the Americas to ratify the Convention.
   (https://tinyurl.com/ycwmtwkd)(SFC, 7/6/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In Mexico soldiers
patrolling the the border city of Nuevo Laredo came under fire from
drug cartel gunmen. The military said 12 attackers were killed. In
Guanajuato state armed men killed five police officers.
   (SSFC, 7/5/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Oman's health
minister said the sultanate had witnessed a "scary" surge in cases
that required boosting hospital capacity, especially intensive care
units.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In eastern Pakistan
a passenger train crashed into a bus carrying Sikh pilgrims, killing
22 people.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Philippine Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte signed a widely opposed anti-terror law that critics
fear could be used against human rights defenders to muzzle dissent.
The law allows the detention of suspects for up to 24 days without
charges.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In the Philippines
thousands of jeepneys, flamboyantly decorated jeeps that serve as
cheap public transport across the country, were back on the streets
of Manila, bringing relief to companies and commuters who have
struggled with coronavirus curbs.
   (Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, President Vladimir
Putin ordered amendments that would allow him to remain in power
until 2036 to be put into the Russian Constitution after voters
approved the changes during a week-long plebiscite. Other key
reforms include an amendment granting former Russian presidents
automatic immunity from criminal prosecution, as well as reforms
enshrining a reference to "belief in God" and a statement about
marriage being only the union of a man and a woman. Changes to the
constitution will come into force on July 4.
   (AP, 7/3/20)(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, A Russian Orthodox
Church panel in Yekaterinburg defrocked a coronavirus-denying monk
who has defied Kremlin lockdown orders and taken control of a
monastery. Father Sergiy urged his backers to come to defend the
Sredneuralsk women's monastery where he has holed up since last
month.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Serbia reported 309
new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours along
with 11 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, South Africa
reported another record high of daily coronavirus cases with 8,728.
Total cases now numbered more than 168,000.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Turkey launched a
trial for 20 Saudi officials accused of killing Jamal Khashoggi in
October, 2018, with rights groups saying the prosecution offered the
best chance for justice for the slain journalist. The next session
was scheduled for November 24.
   (The Telegraph, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, A court in
Istanbul, Turkey, convicted Taner Kilic, Amnesty Int'l.'s former
Turkey chairman, of membership in a terror organization and
sentenced him to more than six years in prison. Three other
activists were also convicted. Amnesty Int'l. condemned the ruling.
   (SFC, 7/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, In northwestern
Turkey an explosion at a fireworks factory killed four people and
injured at least 97 others outside the town of Hendek, Sakarya
province. A manager and two supervisors were soon detained following
the explosion in northwestern Sakarya province.
   (AP, 7/3/20)(AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Uganda so far has
900 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 847 recoveries and no deaths.
   (BBC, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, President Donald
Trump made remarks this evening at the second annual Salute to
America July 4th event held in Washington, D.C. and claimed that a
therapeutic and/or vaccine will be around “long before the end of
the year”.
   (Good Morning America, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, On Arizona police
fatally shot James “Jay” Garcia as he was parked in a car in a
driveway in Phoenix. On July 20 Phoenix police released a nearly
12-minute video on its YouTube account summarizing the events that
took place leading up to Garcia's death with 911 audio and body
camera footage.
   (NBC News, 7/20/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, California to date
had 251,175 cases of coronavirus and 6,318 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 27,931 cases and 596 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,809,108 with the death toll at 129,478.
   (sfist.com, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Florida reported
11,445 new coronavirus cases, a single-day record, bringing the
state total to more than 190,000.
   (SSFC, 7/5/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Texas reported a
record daily increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, the latest
sign that the virus is surging in many parts of the United States,
casting a pall over Fourth of July celebrations.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Protesters in
Baltimore, Maryland, pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus
and threw it into the city's Inner Harbor late today. The statue was
owned by the city and dedicated in 1984 by former Mayor William
Donald Schaefer and President Ronald Reagan.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In New York City
Joey Chestnut (36) downed a record 75 hot dogs at the Nathan's
Famous contest at Coney Island. In the women's division, returning
champion Miki Sudo topped a field of five by devouring a record 48.5
Nathan's Famous hot dogs and buns. Nathan Handwerker opened his
world renown seaside restaurant in 1916.
   (Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In Portland,
Oregon, Summer Taylor (24) and Diaz Love (32) were hit by a car that
barreled through a panicked crowd of protesters on Interstate 5
early today. Taylor died of her injuries later in the evening. Car
driver Dawit Kelete was chased down and put into custody.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Australia’s
Victoria state locked down nine public housing towers and three more
Melbourne suburbs after 108 new coronavirus cases.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In Austria a
Russian man (43) was shot dead near Vienna late today. Police soon
detained a 47-year-old compatriot in what was considered a possible
political assassination. The victim was an ethnic Chechen and a
critic of Ramzan Kadyrov.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Brazil's Pres. Jair
Bolsonaro approved a law requiring masks on streets and in public
transportation. He vetoed clauses requiring masks in churches,
schools, shops and factories. Brazil has confirmed more than 61,500
deaths and over 1.5 million coronavirus infections, the 2nd most in
the world behind the US.
   (SSFC, 7/5/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Pubs and movie
theaters across England reopened as part of Britain’s biggest step
toward post-outbreak normal.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Officials from
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan resumed their negotiations through video
conference to resolve a years-long dispute over the operation and
filling of Ethiopia’s giant hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Egypt’s highest
criminal court upheld a 15-year sentence for Ahmed Douma, one of the
leading activists behind the country’s December 2011 uprising. He
was one of 230 people convicted of taking part in clashes between
protesters and security forces.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Egyptian police
arrested Ahmed Bassam Zaki who, according to prosecutors, has
confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under
18 and to blackmailing the victims.
   (AFP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, France said it is
sending medics to its South American territory of French Guiana,
where infections have surged as the virus swept neighboring Brazil.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, India reported its
highest single-day spike, with 22,771 new confirmed cases for a
total of more than 648,000, including 18,655 deaths.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, President Hassan
Rouhani said Iranians who do not wear masks will be denied state
services and workplaces that fail to comply with health protocols
will be shut for a week. The total number of cases hit 237,878 and a
further 148 deaths brought the country's toll to 11,408.
   (Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In southern Japan
heavy rain triggered flooding and mudslides along the Kuma River.
After several days of flooding at least 58 people died.
   (AP, 7/4/20)(AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Tokyo confirmed 131
new cases, exceeding 100 for the third day in a row and hitting a
new two-month high, prompting Governor Yuriko Koike to ask residents
to avoid nonessential out-of-town visits.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In Libya airstrikes
late today on the al-Waitya airbase in the desert southwestern of
Tripoli destroyed military equipment recently brought in by Turkey,
including air-defense systems. Foreign jets hit the key military
base on the city’s outskirts that was recently retaken by
Turkey-backed forces.
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In New Zealand a
rocket from small-satellite launch firm Rocket Lab failed to reach
orbit minutes after a successful liftoff, losing its payload of
seven small satellites it had intended to carry to space.
   (Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, It was reported
that motorcycle-riding armed bandits operating out of abandoned
forest reserves in Katsina state are ransacking communities in
Nigeria's north-west. The recent attacks in the president's home
state killed more than 100 people between April and June.
   (BBC, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Russia marked a
milestone as the death toll rose above 10,000. The national
coronavirus task force reported 6,632 new infections, raising the
total for the outbreak to 674,515.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, In southern Somalia
a bomb explosion at a restaurant in the town of Baidoa killed six
people. A suicide bomb attack close to Mogadishu injured at least
seven. The militant group al-Shabab said it was behind both
incidents.
   (BBC, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, South Africa
reported another record daily high in confirmed coronavirus cases.
Confirmed cases climbed to more than 177,000, with a record 9,063
reported in the most recent 24-hour period.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Authorities in
northeast Spain ordered the lockdown of El Segriá county around the
city of Lleida, home to over 200,000 people, after health officials
recorded a jump in 60 cases in 24 hours.
   (AP, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said that it was discontinuing its trials of the
malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug
lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 after
they failed to reduce mortality.
   (Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Arizona reported
3,212 new hospitalized COVID-19 patients, a record high. Confirmed
cases in the state have now passed 100,000.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, California
to date had 255,024 cases of coronavirus and 6,337 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 28,771 cases and 598 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,852,807 with the death toll at 129,718.
   (sfist.com, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In Florida recorded
some 10,000 new coronavirus cases bringing its total to more than
200,000 people infected.
   (SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In Atlanta about 60
to 100 demonstrators, dressed in dark clothes and many wearing
masks, caused "extensive damage" to the Georgia Bureau of Public
Safety headquarters, including breaking several windows and spray
painting graffiti on the building.
   (ABC News, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In Idaho two planes
collided in the air and crashed into the Coeur d'Alene Lake late
today. There were a total of eight passengers and crew on the two
planes.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In Rochester, NY, a
statue of Frederick Douglass was taken from Maplewood Park, a site
along the Underground Railroad where Douglass and Harriet Tubman
helped shuttle slaves to freedom. The statue was found at the brink
of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet (15 meters) from its
pedestal.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Broadway star Nick
Cordero (41) died in Los Angeles of complications from COVID-19
following a 3-month battle with the disease.
   (Good Morning America, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Dominion Energy and
Duke Energy, developers of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, announced
that they are cancelling the multi-state natural gas project citing
delays and increasing cost uncertainties. The $8 billion project was
designed to cross Virginia and West Virginia into North
Carolina.  Â
   (SFC, 7/6/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Authorities in a
city in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia issued a warning, one
day after a hospital reported a case of suspected bubonic plague.
The warning followed four reported cases of plague in people from
Inner Mongolia last November, including two of pneumonic plague, a
deadlier variant of plague.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Voters in Croatia
cast ballots in what is expected be a close parliamentary race that
could push the latest European Union member state further to the
right. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), a member of the
center-right pan-EU European People’s Party, won the election. HDZ
must now try and form a coalition government.
   (AP, 7/5/20)(AFP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Croatia has
reported around 113 deaths and some 3,100 confirmed coronavirus
infections.
   (AFP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, The
Dominica-flagged MT Gulf Sky oil tanker, sought by the US over
allegedly circumventing sanctions on Iran, was hijacked off the
coast of the United Arab Emirates. 26 of the Indian sailors on board
soon made it back to India, while two remained in Tehran. On July 19
a UN agency acknowledged that ship, allegedly smuggling Iranian
crude oil, is back in Iranian waters.
   (AP, 7/15/20)(AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, The Dominican
Republic held persidential elections. Businessman Luis Rodolfo
Abinader won 54% of the vote topping Gonzalo Castillo of Dominican
Liberation party, which has governed since 2004.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Ethiopian police
patrolled the country's troubled Oromia region and the capital,
Addis Ababa, following a week of unrest in which 166 people were
killed and more than 2,000 arrested, after popular singer Hachalu
Hundessa was shot dead.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In France
anti-racism groups led a “de-colonial tour” of Paris to call
attention to monuments and streets honoring historical figures tied
to the slave trade or colonial-era abuses.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Iran confirmed that
a building, damaged by fire on July 2 at the underground Natanz
nuclear site, was a new centrifuge assembly center.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Iran instituted
mandatory mask-wearing as fears mount over newly spiking reported
deaths from the coronavirus, even as its public increasingly shrugs
off the danger of the COVID-19 illness it causes. Iran recorded
2,560 new confirmed cases over the last 24 hours, with 163 new
deaths. That put its death toll since the start of the outbreak at
more than 11,500, out of 240,438 confirmed cases.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Israeli military
aircraft struck targets in the northern Gaza Strip late today
following a barrage of rocket fire into southern Israel. No
casualties were reported on either side.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Israel ordered
thousands of people into quarantine after a contentious phone
surveillance program resumed while Palestinians in the West Bank
returned to life under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases in
both areas. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that more than 30,000
people were notified they must enter quarantine since July 2. Israel
has seen more than 29,000 cases and 330 deaths.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, In western Kenya
residents of Rioma, Kisii County, stormed the local police station
this evening after a police officer reportedly shot and killed a
trader he accused of selling fake hand sanitizers.
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Thousands of
Libyans in Benghazi protested against Turkey’s military intervention
on the side of Tripoli-based administration.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Mexico's confirmed
COVID-19 infections topped 252,000 with more than 30,000 total
deaths.
   (SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Pakistan reported
93 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, increasing the
country’s fatalities from COVID-19 to 4,712 since the start of its
outbreak at the end of February. As many as 3,191 new cases were
reported in the previous 24 hours, increasing the country’s overall
cases to 228,474.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, South Africa for
the first time recorded over 10,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases.
This brought its total to more than 187,000.
   (SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Spain's PM Pedro
Sanchez proclaimed that "we have defeated the virus and controlled
the pandemic."
   (Econ., 10/3/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, A Sudanese
government delegation arrived in Central Darfur province for talks
with hundreds of protesters camped outside a government building
demanding better security conditions. A week-long protest camp in
the town of Nitrite called for the resignation of security officials
in the province and a halt to attacks by government-sanctioned armed
groups.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, The United Arab
Emirates announced a wide-ranging government shakeup aimed at
creating a more flexible and modern bureaucracy to tackle challenges
as the coronavirus and lower oil prices erode what was already
sluggish economic growth.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The Trump
administration said it was releasing the names of hundreds of
thousands of businesses which took money from the high-profile $660
billion pandemic Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), letting the
public see for the first time how the majority of the cash was spent
and whether it helped save jobs.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, President Donald
Trump said that US schools must open in the fall - a decision over
which he has limited power - as governors struggle with a nationwide
rise in coronavirus infections and states reverse and pause attempts
to reopen.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The US State
Department said Mohamed Amashah (24), a dual Egyptian-American
citizen medical student detained without trial in an Egyptian prison
for nearly 500 days, has been freed and returned to the United
States. He had been held in pre-trial detention on charges of
“misusing social media” and “aiding a terrorist group".
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The US Supreme
Court ruled unanimously that states can require presidential
electors to back their states’ popular vote winner in the Electoral
College.
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, A US District Court
ordered Energy Transfer LP to shut and empty the largest pipeline
from the North Dakota shale oil fields within 30 days, in a big win
for the Native American tribes who have fought the line's route
across a crucial water supply. In August a federal appeals court
reversed the order.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)(SFC, 8/7/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The Nasdaq closed
at a record high of 10,433.65 as stock climbed globally.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.C3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, California Gov.
Gavin Newsom announced a COVID-19 outbreak in San Quentin State
Prison was his "top focus and priority," and that nearly 1,000
inmates would be released early or relocated.
   (Insider, 7/7/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, California to date
had 273,039 cases of coronavirus and 6,450 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 30,170 cases and 609 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,934,499 with the death toll at 130,271.
   (sfist.com, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Mathematician
Ronald Graham (84) died at his home in San Diego. His work included
developing methods for worst-case analysis in scheduling theory.
   (SSFC, 7/26/20, p.C15)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Georgia's Gov.
Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and authorized the
activation of up to 1,000 National Guard troops following a weekend
of violence in Atlanta that left five people dead, including a girl
(8).
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Atlanta mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms (50) announced that she had tested positive for
COVID-19. She reported no symptoms.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, It was reported
that a wave of gun violence in Chicago has killed nine children
since June 20. That includes a 7-year-old girl who was struck in the
forehead by a bullet when three gunmen opened fire on a Fourth of
July street party.
   (NY Times, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Colin Kaepernick
and the Walt Disney Company announced a production deal that will
see the activist quarterback produce “scripted and unscripted
stories that explore race, social injustice and the quest for
equity” for the media giant’s various platforms, including ESPN.
   (NY Times, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Charlie Daniels
(83), country singer, songwriter and blazing fiddler, died.
   (NY Times, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Scientists reported
that fossils dug up in Madagascar, dating from 237 million years
ago, were those of a pocket sized dinosaur forerunner, named
Kongonaphon, that was smaller than your cellphone.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Emergent
BioSolutions Inc said it has signed a five-year contract to make the
drug substance used in Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate, adding to a series of deals likely to put it at the heart
of future global vaccine production.
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Uber announced that
it has agreed to acquire the food delivery start-up Postmates for
$2.65 billion as it aims to grow its presence in on-demand food
delivery while its core ride-hailing business struggles.
   (NY Times, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Britain used a new
legislation drafted in the memory of a killed Russian tax adviser to
sanction 25 Russian nationals linked to prosecution and mistreatment
of tax adviser Sergei Magnitsky as well as 20 Saudis involved in the
murder of a journalist in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
   (The Telegraph, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, British online
fashion retailer Boohoo said it will end relationships with any
supplier found to have breached its code of conduct, following a
media report about dire working conditions in one English factory.
The Sunday Times newspaper had reported that workers in a factory in
Leicester, central England, making clothes destined for Boohoo were
being paid as little as 3.50 pounds ($4.38) an hour.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, In Cambodia the
province of Siem Reap outlawed the trade of dog meat. The trade
remains legal in other parts of the country. Recent reports
estimated that 2-3 million dogs are killed annually in Cambodia for
their meat.
   (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, China joined a
global arms trade treaty spurned by the United States, taking a
swipe at US President Donald Trump's administration by accusing it
of bullying, unilateralism and undermining efforts to combat global
challenges.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Police in in
northern Beijing arrested Xu Zhangrun (57), a law professor at the
prestigious Tsinghua University and one of the few academics in
China who have harshly criticized the ruling Communist Party, on an
accusation of consorting with prostitutes. Xu published an essay in
February blaming the culture of deception and censorship fostered by
Xi for the spread of the coronavirus in China. Zhangrun was released
on July 12.
   (NY Times, 7/6/20)(AFP, 7/6/20)(The Telegraph,
7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Egypt's Health
Ministry has recorded 76,253 coronavirus infections, including 3,343
deaths. At least 10 doctors and six journalists have been arrested
since the virus first hit Egypt in February.
   (AP, 7/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, India reported
24,248 new cases of the coronavirus and has now confirmed over
697,000 cases including 19,693 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Husham Al-Hashimi
(47), a leading expert on the Islamic State group, was gunned down
outside his home in Baghdad late today. He had recently turned his
attention to Iran-backed militias in Iraq. His drive-by shooting
involved two attackers on a motorcycle. A year later police arrested
the shooter. He was identified as Ahmed Hamdawi al-Kinani, a police
officer with the rank of first lieutenant in the Interior Ministry.
In his confession, al-Kinani said he had worked with four other
accomplices.
   (AP, 7/7/20)(AP, 7/16/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Israel launched a
new spy satellite that could help monitor Iran’s nuclear activity,
as Israeli officials remained evasive about recent incidents at
Iranian industrial facilities that have raised suspicions of foreign
sabotage.
   (The Telegraph, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Italian composer
Ennio Morricone (91) died in Rome. His atmospheric scores for
spaghetti westerns and some 500 films by a Who’s Who of
international directors made him one of the world’s most versatile
and influential creators of music for the modern cinema.
   (NY Times, 7/6/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.74)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Netherlands-based
Mylan NV said it would launch a generic version of Gilead Sciences
Inc's COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir in India at 4,800 rupees
($64.31), about 80% below the price tag on the drug for wealthy
nations.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Pakistan has now
recorded 231,813 coronavirus infections and 4,762 deaths. Pakistan's
foreign minister and health minister have recently tested positive
for he virus.
   (SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, A Russian court
convicted journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva of “justifying terrorism”
after she wrote an opinion article in 2018 suggesting that teenage
suicide bomber Mikhail Zhlobitsky (17) was driven to the act by
anger at the repression of law enforcement agencies. The court in
Pskov fined her 500,000 rubles (some £5,000). The judge seized her
laptop and phone.
   (The Telegraph, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Saudi Arabia issued
guidelines for about 1,000 pilgrims who will be allowed to perform
the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an experience that
will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, In South Korea Son
Jong-woo (24), the operator of the largest child pornography web
site ever uncovered, walked free from prison after a court in Seoul
ruled that he could not be extradited to the US to face additional
charges. Son had completed his 18-month term in April but was
immediately detained again after a US federal grand jury indicted
him on nine charges.
   (The Telegraph, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Spanish health
officials said results from the final stage of a nationwide antibody
study show some 5.2% of Spain's population has been exposed to the
new coronavirus, confirming findings from earlier stages.
   (Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The UN warned that
COVID-19 could cause an additional half a million AIDS deaths if
treatment is disrupted long term. The UN also said the pandemic was
jeopardizing years of progress against HIV.
   (AFP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, In Zimbabwe at
least 12 nurses were arrested when they demonstrated against their
working conditions, complaining that they do not have adequate
protective gear to safely treat COVID-19 patients. The country has
recorded about 700 cases of coronavirus infection and 8 deaths.
   (AP, 7/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, The US State
Department and the UN said that the Trump administration had
formally notified the UN that the United States would leave the WHO
next year.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, It was reported
that a Washington, DC federal court has ordered the Islamic Republic
of Iran to pay $879 million in its decision after finding the
Iranian defendants directed the 1996 terrorist bombing of the Khobar
Towers in Saudi Arabia where US forces were housed.
   (PR Newswire, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, US Secretary of the
Interior David L. Bernhardt announced his agency will not conduct
the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the
idea to reintroduce grizzly bears to the forested mountains in and
around North Cascades National Park in north central Washington
state.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, California to date
had 283,750 cases of coronavirus and 6,569 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 30,940 cases and 621 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
2,948,397 with the death toll at 130,430.
   (sfist.com, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, San Francisco-based
Sunrun, the nation's largest residential solar company, said that it
is acquiring Vivint Solar, a Utah-based leading competitor. The deal
would form one of the world's largest providers of solar equipment.
   (SFC, 7/8/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, It was reported
that a local health department In southwestern Missouri revealed
earlier this week that an overnight summer camp has seen scores of
campers, counselors and staff infected with the coronavirus.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Researchers
reported that a recently discovered species of seaweed is killing
large patches of coral on once-pristine reefs in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands and is rapidly spreading across one of the most
remote and protected ocean environments on earth. The new species of
red algae has been named Chondria tumulosa.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In Washington state
Mary Kay Letourneau (58), a teacher who was convicted of raping Vili
Fualaau (12) in 1996, died of cancer. The case that drew
international headlines. Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20,
2005, in Woodinville, Washington, after her release from prison.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, It was reported
that the US government has awarded Novavax Inc $1.6 billion to cover
testing and manufacturing of a potential vaccine for the novel
coronavirus in the United States, with the aim of delivering 100
million doses by January.
   (Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said that the US government has signed a $450
million contract with the company for its potential COVID-19
antibody cocktail.
   (Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Florida reported
7,347 new cases, with the total number of diagnosed cases now at
213,794. The state's death toll has reached 3,943.
   (Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, The New York
Department of Financial Services said Deutsche Bank has agreed to
pay $150 million in penalties over its relationship with Jeffrey
Epstein as part of a consent order with regulators in New York.
   (Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, NYC police said 64
people were shot over the weekend in a surge of shootings. The city
surpassed 400 shootings in the first half of the year for the first
time since 2016, with 528 by the end of last month.
   (NY Times, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Work crews In
Richmond, Va., took down a monument to Confederate Gen. J.E.B.
Stuart, the third major statue to be cleared away in less than a
week as the Confederacy's former capital rushes to remove symbols of
oppression in response to protests against police brutality and
racism.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In Afghanistan a
suicide bomber targeted a police convoy in Nangarhar province
killing four officers.
   (SFC, 7/8/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Brazil's Pres. Jair
Bolsonaro said he has tested positive for COVID-19. Sources close to
the president said that Bolsonaro began exhibiting symptoms of the
virus July 4.
   (Good Morning America, 7/7/20)  Â
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Doctors reported
that a Brazilian man infected with the AIDS virus has shown no sign
of it for more than a year since he stopped HIV medicines after an
intense experimental drug therapy aimed at purging hidden, dormant
virus from his body.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Britain said it
would resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia, halted last year after a UK
court ruling over the Gulf kingdom's bombing campaign in neighboring
Yemen.
   (AFP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Britain's GSK said
that an injection of its cabotegravir drug given every two months
was found to be 66% more effective in preventing HIV infections than
Gilead's Truvada daily oral pills.
   (Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, UK-based Reckitt
Benckiser Group Plc said that the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has approved use of its Lysol Disinfectant Spray against
COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, China and Russia
vetoed a UN resolution that would maintain two border crossing
points from Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria’s mainly
rebel-held northwest for a year. Russia immediately circulated a
draft Security Council resolution that would authorize the delivery
of aid through a single crossing point from Turkey for six months.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In China a bus
careered into a lake in the city of Anshun in the southwest province
of Guizhou, killing 21 people. Five students heading to their
university entrance exams were among those killed. It was later
reported that the bus driver, upset that his home would be
demolished, had been drinking at the wheel before plunging his
vehicle into a reservoir.
   (The Telegraph, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Colombia's leftist
National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels asked the government late
today to "agree a bilateral 90-day ceasefire" in response to a call
from the United Nations to reduce violence and conflicts during the
coronavirus pandemic.
   (AFP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Dubai allowed
tourists back into the country following a COVID-19 shutdown.
   (Econ., 8/1/20, p.37)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, German prosecutors
in the town of Zwickau seized servers that hosted thousands of
sensitive police documents published as part of the BlueLeaks data
dump. The publisher was not given an explanation. Prosecutors behind
the seizure were acting at the request of the US government. The
takedown came after DDoSecrets, the publisher that hosted the
BlueLeaks files after they were obtained by an anonymous hacker, was
permanently banned from Twitter.
   (AFP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In India 467 people
have died from the coronavirus in the last day, bringing the
nation's death toll to 20,160. Authorities reported a one-day
increase of 22,252, bringing India's total number of coronavirus
cases to 719,665.
   (Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Iraq partially
reopened its southern Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after
more than three months of closure to combat the spread of the new
coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe’s ruling party adopted a resolution urging the government to
cancel a visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping following
Beijing's imposition of a new national security law for Hong Kong.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, It was reported
that all schools in Kenya will remain closed until next January
because of the coronavirus pandemic. Kenya has confirmed more than
8,000 cases of coronavirus with at least 164 deaths along with a
recent surge in new infections.
   (BBC, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Kenyan police fired
tear gas and detained scores of protesters demanding an end to
police brutality. About 100 people took part in demonstrations
across the capital, Nairobi.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In Russia former
journalist Ivan Safronov, who worked as an adviser to the director
of Russia's state space corporation, was detained on charges of
passing military secrets to a Western nation, accusations that many
of his colleagues dismissed as absurd. Dozens of prominent
journalists protested and were promptly detained.
   (AP, 7/7/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.42)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, South Africa has
confirmed 159,333 total cases of the coronavirus and 2,749 deaths.
   (BBC, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Turkish authorities
foiled an attempt to smuggle 276 migrants to Europe on board a ship,
and detained eight suspected smugglers.
   (AP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Turkey detained
another 41 people, many of them soldiers, for being suspected
members of the Gulen community (cemaat), an Islamist movement the
Pres. Erdogan blames for an attempted 2016 coup.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.48)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, The United Nations
expert on extrajudicial killings concluded that the US drone strike
that killed Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani was "unlawful." Agnes
Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, concluded it was an "arbitrary killing" that
violated the UN charter.
   (AFP, 7/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, President Donald
Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if schools don’t reopen
in the fall, and he lashed out at federal health officials over
school reopening guidelines that he says are impractical and
expensive.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The US Supreme
Court ruled 7-2 to uphold Trump administration rules allowing some
employers to decline to provide contraceptive coverage on religious
or moral grounds, which could leave more than 70,000 women without
cost-free birth control.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, California to date
had 290,199 cases of coronavirus and 6,575 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 31,808 cases and 626 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
3,046,351 with the death toll at 132,195.
   (sfist.com, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, TV show Glee star
Naya Rivera disappeared at California's Lake Piru. A boat rental
employee found her boat floating with only son Josey (4) asleep
inside and alerted authorities.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Police in Miami
arrested the former governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua,
César Horacio Duarte Jáquez (b.1963), who is wanted on corruption
charges in his homeland. Duarte governed the northern border state
from 2010 to 2016.
   (The Telegraph, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Florida announced
nearly 9,000 new cases and 120 new coronavirus deaths, a record
daily increase in lives lost. Positive test rates reached a new
daily high of 18%, up from 12%-13% two weeks ago.
   (AP, 7/9/20)(SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Dylan Jarrell (22)
of Kentucky, who bought an AR-15 rifle that authorities alleged he
planned to use to open fire at his former high school in 2018, was
sentenced to 10 years in prison.
   (NBC News, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Harvard University
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a federal
lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's decision to bar
international students from staying in the US if they take classes
entirely online this fall.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Two powerful
tornadoes damaged farms, left one person dead and at least one other
injured in western Minnesota as severe storms moved across parts of
the Midwest.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, New York-based
Brooks Brothers, a 202-year-old men's retailer, filed for bankruptcy
and said it is closing 51 stores across the country.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Tulsa City-County
Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said President Donald
Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of
participants and large protests "likely contributed" to a dramatic
surge in new coronavirus cases.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Texas executed its
first death row inmate since it first confirmed a case of
coronavirus after a Supreme Court ruling allowed his execution to go
ahead. Billy Joe Wardlow (45) was sentenced to death in 1993 for a
robbery and murder in which he and his girlfriend tried to rob
82-year-old Carl Cole of his truck using a .45-caliber gun.
   (The Independent, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Texas has recorded
over 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 2,670 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Work crews in
Virginia took down the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors statue,
installed in 1894, the 6th Confederate monument to be removed in
Richmond amid national protests against police brutality and symbols
many see as racist icons.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Biogen Inc said it
has submitted an application seeking US approval of its
closely-watched Alzheimer's drug, as the company aims to be the
first to bring a treatment to market that can alter the course of
the mind-wasting disease.
   (Reuters, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, BlueCity listed on
New York's NASDAQ at a market valley of over $600 million. BlueCity
Holdings Limited is a China-based LGBTQ focused internet technology
company dedicated to providing comprehensive services to diverse
users around the world. Blued, launched in 2012, is china's most
popular social networking site for homosexual men.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.54)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, In Afghanistan a
suicide truck bomber targeted a police district headquarters in
southern Kandahar province, killing three officers. Three other
police officers, including a district police chief, were killed in a
roadside bombing in eastern Ghazni province.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, In Australia the
city of Melbourne and part of its surroundings began a six-week
lockdown. Victoria authorities announced 134 new cases in the past
24 hours.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The Brazilian
Supreme Court ruled that Brazil must take emergency measures to
protect its Indigenous communities from the novel coronavirus.
   (The Conversation, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Human Rights Watch
(HRW) reported that at least 180 bodies have been found in mass
graves in northern Burkina Faso where soldiers are fighting
jihadists. The men had been found shot dead under bridges, in fields
and along major roads within a 5km (three-mile) radius of Djibo
between November 2019 and June 2020.
   (BBC, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, China defended the
World Health Organization and lashed out at the US decision to
withdraw from the UN body.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, It was reported
that China has imported more than 300,000 tons of West African
rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) from The Gambia since President
Adama Barrow came to power in 2017. The rosewood being shipped out
of The Gambia to China comes from the Casamance region of southern
Senegal, where it is illegal to fell or export a rosewood tree.
   (BBC, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, In Hong Kong
Beijing's national security office was inaugurated. Hong Kong's
educational bureau announced that schools must not allow students to
play, sing or broadcast the protest anthem" Glory to Hong Kong,"
because it contains political images.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Iran said that its
deaths from the novel coronavirus had surpassed 12,000, with
authorities considering reimposing restrictive measures in Tehran to
contain a resurgence of the disease. Another 153 deaths had been
recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 12,084. Total
cases had risen to 248,379 with 2,691 more people testing positive.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Ivory Coast's PM
Amadou Gon Coulibaly (61) died after falling ill at a ministerial
meeting. Coulibaly had only just returned from France where he had
received two-months' heart treatment.
   (BBC, 7/8/20)(Econ., 8/15/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Lebanese
businessman Kassim Tajideen (64), serving a five-year sentence in
the United States for providing millions of dollars to the militant
Hezbollah group, arrived in Beirut after his early release.
   (AFP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Pakistan's national
carrier said it is firing 28 pilots found to have tainted licenses.
262 pilots are currently grounded in the country.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Palestinian PM
Mohammad Shtayyeh said 82 percent of new coronavirus cases in the
West Bank were linked to weddings and funerals. Over the past few
weeks more than 4,000 new cases and 15 deaths have been reported.
   (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, It was reported
that Ukraine's security service has detained a suspected Russian
agent who was allegedly planning to blow up an ammonia tank in the
country’s war-torn east.
   (The Telegraph, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council that
the conflict in Libya has entered a new phase "with foreign
interference reaching unprecedented levels".
   (Reuters, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The UN warned that
lives are at risk as the new coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge
in the trafficking of substandard masks, sanitizers and other
medical products.
   (AFP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, A Russian bid to
get the United Nations to reduce cross-border humanitarian aid to
war-torn Syria was voted down by the Security Council. Authorization
for aid, which comes through two crossing points on the Turkish
border, expires on July 10.
   (AFP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The WHO said Sri
Lanka and Maldives have become the first two countries in the World
Health Organization's South-East Asia region to eliminate both
measles and rubella ahead of a 2023 target.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Yemen's UN
humanitarian coordinator said the country is once again on the brink
of famine as donor funds that averted catastrophe just 18 months ago
have dried up.
   (AFP, 7/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, President Donald
Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, was
returned to federal prison, after balking at certain conditions of
the home confinement he was granted because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The United States
imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist
Party, including a member of the ruling Politburo, for alleged human
rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities that China
has detained in the western part of the country.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The US Supreme
Court ruled 5-4 that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an
American Indian reservation, a decision that state and federal
officials have warned could throw Oklahoma into chaos.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The US Supreme
Court ruled 7-2 that a New York prosecutor can obtain President
Donald Trump's financial records but prevented - at least for now -
Democratic-led House of Representatives committees from getting
similar documents.
   (Reuters, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The US Department
of Labor said another 1.3 million US workers filed for unemployment
insurance last week. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the record for
weekly unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, It was reported
that at least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during
Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of
others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and
tear gas.
   (The Independent, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The Ivy League
placed all sports on hold until at least January, making it the
first Division I conference that will not play football because of
the pandemic.
   (NY Times, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, More than 60,500
new COVID-19 infections were reported across the United States,
setting a one-day record as Americans were told to take new
precautions and the pandemic becomes increasingly politicized.
infections rose in 41 of the 50 states over the last two weeks.
   (Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, California to date
had 300,319 cases of coronavirus and 6,847 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 32,636 cases and 638 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
3,108,141 with the death toll at 133,106.
   (sfist.com, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, It was reported
that at least 26 lawmakers in Mississippi have been diagnosed with
the coronavirus in the biggest known outbreak in any state
legislature in the nation. The state has seen a rapid rise in
confirmed cases in the past two weeks, with the total hitting nearly
33,600.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, New York City Mayor
Bill de Blasio grabbed a roller to paint “Black Lives Matter" in
front of the namesake Manhattan tower of President Donald Trump, who
tweeted last week that the street mural would be “a symbol of hate”.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Texas hit a record
number of daily coronavirus fatalities, with 105 new deaths
recorded.
   (Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Utah Gov. Gary
Herbert declared a state of emergency late today in response to
protests in Salt Lake city that erupted after authorities said a
fatal police shooting in May was justified.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The
conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld
Republican-authored lame-duck laws that stripped power from the
incoming Democratic attorney general just before he took office in
2019.
   (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Bed Bath &
Beyond said it plans to close about 200 stores over the next two
years as its sales slid in the first quarter. The chain reported its
quarterly sales dropped 49% due to temporary store closures amid the
pandemic. Online sales soared 82%.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Several large drug
makers including Merck & Co Inc and Pfizer Inc unveiled a $1
billion fund to bolster struggling antibiotic companies and sustain
a pipeline for new treatments.
   (Reuters, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Moderna Inc said it
has signed an agreement with Spain's Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi
SA to scale up the manufacturing and production of its potential
COVID-19 vaccine to supply markets outside the United States.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Australia suspended
its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended visas for Hong
Kong residents in response to China's imposition of a tough national
security law on the semi-autonomous territory.
   (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Bolivia’s interim
president announced that he has been infected with the new
coronavirus. Three Cabinet ministers in the administration of
Bolivian leader Jeanine Áñez have also tested positive for the
virus, including Health Minister Eidy Roca and Presidency Minister
Yerko Nuñez, who is hospitalized. The country has 42,984 confirmed
coronavirus cases and 1,577 deaths, and is seeing a rebound in the
number of new cases amid reports that hospitals are being
overwhelmed in some regions.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Bulgaria police
raided the office of Pres. Rumen Radev and detained two aides on
charges of influence peddling and disclosing state secrets.
Demonstrators soon took the streets accusing the chief prosecutor of
ordering the raid.
   (Econ., 7/25/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In CongoDRC two
protesters were shot dead and a policeman was lynched in clashes
over plans to name a new head to the country's election panel.
Police in Kinshasa used tear gas to break up thousands of members of
President Felix Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Progress (UDPS)
who had marched to near the seat of parliament.
   (AFP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, India's Health
Ministry said that India was doing “relatively well” managing
COVID-19, pointing to 13 deaths per 1 million people, compared to
about 400 in the United States and 320 in Brazil. India has tallied
793,802 infections and more than 21,600 deaths, with cases doubling
every three weeks.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Indonesia has
confirmed more than 68,000 cases of the coronavirus, including over
3,350 deaths, the most infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Israeli troops shot
and killed Ibrahim Abu Yakoub (29), a Palestinian in the occupied
West Bank, who they said was one of two men throwing firebombs at a
guard post near the village of Kifl Haris. Palestinian officials say
they merely strolling through their village.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Kazakhstan the
Chinese embassy flagged a "significant increase" in cases in the
Kazakh cities of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymkent since mid-June.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, At least 300,000
Puerto Ricans have filed unemployment claims linked to the pandemic
— out of a civilian labor force of 1.05 million — and many others
are ineligible for aid because they are part of the island’s large
informal economy. Puerto Rico in mid-June had the highest insured
unemployment rate in the country, at 23 percent.
   (NY Times, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Russia Sergei
Furgal, the opposition governor of the Khabarovsk region, was
detained. Investigators searched the homes of several Kremlin
critics who have urged supporters to protest against President
Vladimir Putin's rule.
   (AP, 7/9/20)(AFP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Serbia’s
authorities banned gatherings of more than 10 people in the capital
Belgrade after two nights of violent clashes between police and
thousands of demonstrators protesting coronavirus lockdown measures.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Authorities in
South Korea searched for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who vanished
amid sexual harassment allegations after giving his daughter a
message that she described as sounding like a will. The body of
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon (64) was soon discovered on a hill in
northern Seoul, several hours after his daughter reported him
missing.
   (AP, 7/9/20)(NY Times, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Sudan's ruling body
ratified a law banning the widespread practice of female genital
mutilation, handing the movement for women’s rights in the African
country a long-sought victory.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The Swiss-based
Int'l. Union for the Conservation of Nature updated its red list and
said the lemurs of Madagascar are just one step away form
extinction. North Atlantic Right Whales were also said to be nearing
extinction.
   (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In northwestern
Turkey a truck carrying fireworks exploded, killing three military
police officers and wounded six others.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Efforts by the
United Arab Emirates to fight the coronavirus have renewed questions
about mass surveillance in this US-allied federation of seven
sheikhdoms.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, In Venezuela
socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello (57), the country's No. 2
leader, announced that he has been infected with the new
coronavirus. The government has reported 8,010 confirmed cases and
75 deaths.
   (AP, 7/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, The WHO said former
Liberian pres. Ellen Johnson and former New Zealand PM Helen Clark
will lead a new panel to give an assessment of the global response
to the coronavirus pandemic.
   (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, President Donald
Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant
Roger Stone, intervening in extraordinary fashion in a criminal case
that was central to the Russia investigation and that concerned the
president's own conduct.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Goya Foods Inc,
the largest Hispanic-owned US food company and a popular brand among
Latino Americans, became the target of a boycott campaign on social
media sparked by its CEO effusively praising President Donald Trump
at the White House.
   (Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, The California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it will release
more inmates to help protect the prisons from COVID-19.
   (Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, California to
date had 307,499 cases of coronavirus and 6,893 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 33,447 cases and 639 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,173,466 with the death toll at 133,940.
   (sfist.com, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Trumpeter Eddie
Gale (78) died in San Jose, Ca., after a long battle with cancer.
His albums included "Ghetto Music" (1968) and "Black Rhythm
Happening" (1969).
   (SSFC, 7/19/20, p.C11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Florida reported
11,433 new cases, bringing the state's total cases to 244,151.
   (Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Atlanta Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms said she is rolling back the city's reopening
plans. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said the mayor had no authority to
return to phase 1.
   (Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, It was reported
that more than 150 Minneapolis police officers are filing
work-related disability claims after the death of George Floyd and
ensuing unrest, with about three-quarters citing post-traumatic
stress disorder as the reason for their planned departures.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Nevada Gov. Steve
Sisolak said the state will re-implement restrictions on bars and
restaurants in certain counties to prevent further spread of the
coronavirus effective this midnight.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, New Mexico Gov.
Michelle Lujan Grisham said authorities will halt indoor restaurant
service, close state parks to nonresidents and suspend autumn
contact sports in response to surging coronavirus infections in the
state effective July 13.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, A South Dakota
teenager (17) was sentenced to 55 years in prison after admitting he
fatally shot a Wyoming girl last fall. Shayna Ritthaler (16) went
missing Oct. 3 after being seen getting into a Jeep-like vehicle at
a coffee shop in Moorcroft, Wyoming. She was found Oct. 7 in the
basement of the home the boy shared with his mother east of Sturgis.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Inpe, Brazil's
national space agency, published figures showing 400 square miles of
deforestation in the Amazon in June. Total deforestation from
January to June was 1,890 square miles, up 25% from the same period
last year.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, China reported two
new coronavirus cases in the mainland. As of today mainland China
had 83,587 confirmed coronavirus cases. The death toll remained at
4,634.
   (Reuters, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, China said it was
suspending imports from three Ecuadorean shrimp producers after
detecting coronavirus in recent shipments, prompting one of the
Ecuadorean producers to accuse China of "tarnishing the reputation"
of the industry.
   (Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Smoore, China's
biggest e-cigarette maker, launched its IPO in Hong Kong. It is now
the world's most valuable vape firm, worth around $24 billion. This
was a challenge to China's state-owned China Tobacco, which
accounted for 6% of government revenues in 2019.
   (Econ., 7/25/20, p.53)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In northern Egypt
11 people drowned off the coast, at a beach known for its rocky
jetty and fast-moving waters. A young boy had run into the sea and
began having difficulties. Ten people died in a failed attempt to
rescue him.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, French bus driver
Phillipe Monguillot (59) was declared brain dead following a July 5
attack by a group of unmasked passengers in Bayonne. Two men were
charged with attempted murder following the attack, while another
two men were charged with failing to help a person in danger.
   (Insider, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, India reported
25,506 coronavirus cases, and another 475 deaths in the past 24
hours, raising the total fatality toll to 21,604.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Iranian state TV
reported that Iran’s military chief has signed an agreement with
Syria's president to reinforce Syria's air defense systems as part
of a military cooperation agreement.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, An explosion
rocked western Tehran early today, causing widespread power failures
in two residential areas and unnerving Iranians awakened for the
third consecutive week by an early-morning blast.
   (NY Times, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Italy's city of
Venice opened all 78 movable sluice gates of its Experimental
Electromechanical Module (MOSE), blocking the inlets to the lagoon
that surrounds the city. The system was expected to be fully
operational by the end of 2021.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Record-breaking
rains this week in the south of Japan have killed 62 people in
floods and landslides. The extreme weather is highlighting the
vulnerability of nursing homes: Floodwaters killed 14 seniors in one
nursing home.
   (NY Times, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Japan reported 243
new cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo as businesses have largely
returned to normal.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Protesters in Mali
forced the state broadcaster off air during large demonstrations in
Bamako. This was the third rally in a month demanding that President
Ibrahim Boubakar Keita stand down. At least one person was reported
killed outside the national assembly.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Nepal
landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rain killed at least 10 people
and left 30 others missing. The death toll was soon raised to 117
with at least 47 missing.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A2)(SFC, 7/17/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Pakistan daily
coronavirus infections dropped to 2,751 over the last 24 hours as
testing decreased. Total deaths crossed the 5,000 mark.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Philippine
lawmakers voted to reject the license renewal of ABS-CBN Corp., the
country's largest TV network founded in 1953. The network had been
repeatedly threatened by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte over its critical
coverage. Some network programming continued over paid cable
channels.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, A court in Moscow
ruled to jail Sergei Furgal (50), the governor of the Khabarovsk
region, pending a probe on charges of his involvement in multiple
murders. The Investigative Committee, the nation’s main criminal
investigation agency, said he is accused of involvement in the
murders of several businessmen in the region and nearby territories
in 2004 and 2005.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, South Africa
overnight posted another record daily high of confirmed cases,
13,674, as Africa’s most developed country is a new global hot spot
with 238,339 cases overall. More than a third are in Gauteng
province. Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced he had tested
positive with mild symptoms.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Serbia 14
policemen were injured in rioting when hundreds of right-wing
demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building in downtown
Belgrade. 71 people have been detained after clashes during the
fourth night of anti-government protests that were initially sparked
by the announcement of a new coronavirus lockdown.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Singapore held
parliamentary elections.The Ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won
83 of Parliament's 93 seats. The opposition Workers' Party (WP) took
a record 10 seats in the best performance by an opposition party
since independence in 1965.
   (SSFC, 7/12/20, p.A7)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.29)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, A leading doctor
in Syria's overcrowded opposition-held enclave said hospitals are
suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services
following the detection of the first case of coronavirus. The first
case of COVID-19 was reported a day earlier in Idlib province.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally reconverted Istanbul’s sixth-century
iconic Hagia Sophia into a mosque and declared it open to Muslim
worship, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had
turned it into a museum. The news sparked deep dismay among Orthodox
Christians. Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Christian
cathedral.
   (AP, 7/10/20)(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, UN rights chief
Michelle Bachelet warned that Lebanon's economic crisis is getting
out of hand, calling for urgent internal reforms coupled with
international support to prevent further mayhem.
   (AFP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, The UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that the illegal global ivory trade
has decreased, but trafficking of pangolins is on the rise.
   (AP, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Mike Ryan, head of
the World Health Organization's emergencies program, said that an
outbreak of pneumonia in Kazakhstan, reported to be highly lethal,
was "certainly on our radar". He also said it was possible it might
be COVID-19. Kazakhstan's healthcare ministry branded Chinese media
reports as "fake news".
   (Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Former special
counsel Robert Mueller sharply defended his investigation into ties
between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign,
writing in a newspaper opinion piece that the probe was of
“paramount importance” and asserting that a Trump ally, Roger Stone,
“remains a convicted felon, and rightly so" despite the president's
decision to commute his prison sentence.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, It was reported
that employees of a Five Guys restaurant in Daphne, Alabama were
fired for refusing to serve a group of police officers earlier this
week.
   (Insider, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, It was reported
that a California doctor has been charged after it was found that
vulnerable drug addicts were being paid hundreds of dollars in cash
to receive an experimental procedure, after which several died of
overdoses. Dr. Randy Rosen faced 88 felony charges from the Los
Angeles Orange County district attorney. Prosecutors have accused
him of fraudulently billing insurance companies over $650 million
and stealing almost $52 million in what they call an elaborate
scheme.
   (CBS News, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, A fire early today
destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of the Catholic
church San Gabriel that was undergoing renovation to mark its
upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. The San Gabriel Mission was
founded in 1771.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, California to
date had 318,947 cases of coronavirus and 7,026 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 34,109 cases and 641 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,242,073 with the death toll at 134,729.
   (sfist.com, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Marc Angelucci
(52), a men's rights lawyer, was killed in San Bernardino County,
Ca. The murder was later connected to Roy Den Hollander (72),
another men's rights attorney who was found dead of a self-inflicted
gunshot wound the day after the July 19 attack that killed a New
Jersey judge’s son and wounded her husband.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Florida
visitors wore colorful face masks with mouse ears as Walt Disney
World opened to the public in Orlando for the first time in four
months amid a surge of coronavirus cases in the state.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In southern Texas
police Officers Edelmiro Garza (45) and Ismael Chavez (39) were shot
and killed by Audon Ignacio Camarillo (23), who later fatally shot
himself after responding to a domestic disturbance call in McAllen.
   (AP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Australia,
health officials in Victoria reported 216 new coronavirus cases in
the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Belgium wearing
a face mask to slow the spread of the coronavirus became mandatory
in shops, theaters, entertainment venues and other indoor spaces.
   (SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, A new UK study,
which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that COVID-19 antibodies
may start to decline 20 to 30 days after the onset of symptoms and
that detectable amounts of antibodies fell rapidly in the weeks
afterward.
   (Yahoo News, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Bulgaria's Pres.
Ruman Radev called on the center-right government to step down and
the chief prosecutor to resign as the only way to ease the growing
political tensions that have sparked mass protests across the
country. Radev, a vocal critic of PM Boyko Borissov’s center-right
government, accused it of corruption, lack of justice and
suppression of the freedom of speech.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, India reported a
new daily high of 27,114, its biggest daily spike as the total
number of coronavirus cases passed 820,916. The death toll rose by
519 for a total of 22,123.
   (AP, 7/11/20)(SSFC, 7/12/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Iran said that it
cannot afford to shut down its sanctions-hit economy, even as the
country's novel coronavirus outbreak worsens with record-high death
tolls and rising infections. The Health Minsitry said 88 people had
died from the respiratory disease in the past 24 hours, raising the
overall toll to 12,635. The country's caseload rose to 255,117, with
2,397 new infections recorded.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Iraqi PM Mustafa
al-Kadhemi launched a new campaign against corruption at the
country's borders, saying millions of dollars were being lost by not
properly taxing imported goods.
   (AFP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Thousands of
Israelis demonstrated in downtown Tel Aviv, protesting what is
widely seen as PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to address economic
woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Okinawa Gov. Denny
Tamaki said dozens of US Marines at two bases on the southern
Japanese island have been infected with the coronavirus in what is
feared to be a massive outbreak. The next day officials reported 61
cases – 38 at Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma and another 23 at
Camp Hansen.
   (AP, 7/11/20)(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Libya Ahmed
al-Mosmari, a spokesman for Khalifa Hifter's forces, called for oil
revenues to flow into a bank account in a foreign country with a
“clear mechanism” to distribute funds fairly among Libya’s regions.
   (AP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Mali police
fired tear gas in Bamako as scattered groups came out for a second
straight day of anti-government protests, defying the president's
latest call for dialogue. Mali Pres. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
announced the dissolution of the constitutional court in an attempt
to calm unrest that saw four people killed in street protests a day
earlier.
   (AP, 7/11/20)(BBC, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, The Philippines by
this time had recorded some 50,440 cases of the coronavirus and
1,300 deaths.
   (Econ., 7/11/20, p.31)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In Puerto Rico
dozens of activists marched through the historic part of San Juan,
some wearing traditional Taino clothing, as they banged on drums and
blew on conch shells to demand that the US territory’s government
start by removing statues including those of explorer Christopher
Columbus.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In eastern Russia
thousands of demonstrators in Khabarovsk demonstrated against the
July 9 arrest of regional Gov. Sergei Furgal, a member of the
nationalist Liberal Party. His 2018 election marked a setback for
Pres. Putin's United Russia party.
   (SSFC, 7/12/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Russia scored a
victory for its ally Syria by forcing the Security Council to limit
humanitarian aid deliveries to the country’s mainly rebel-held
northwest to just one crossing point from Turkey, a move that
Western nations say will cut a lifeline for 1.3 million people.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, In South Africa
five people were killed after attackers stormed the International
Pentecostal Holiness Church on the outskirts of Johannesburg,
reportedly amid an argument over its leadership. At least 40 people
were arrested including members of SAPS, the South African National
Defence Force, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the
Department of Correctional Services.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, South Africa now
has more than 250,000 confirmed cases, including more than 3,800
deaths.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, The South Korean
army announced the death of former army Gen. Paik Sun-yup (99). He
was celebrated as a major war hero for leading troops in several
battle victories against North Korean soldiers during the 1950-53
Korean War.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Turkey’s
parliament passed controversial legislation amending laws governing
attorneys and bar associations, despite protests from critics who
say the move could limit the independence of lawyers and reduce the
professional associations’ clout.
   (AP, 7/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, A fire and
explosion aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard injured at least 57 people
at a base in San Diego. On July 17 the Navy announced that all fires
on the ship have been extinguished. In 2022 a military judge
acquitted sailor Ryan Sawyer Mays (21) of arson.
   (AP, 7/13/20)(SFC, 7/17/20, p.A6)(SFC, 10/1/22,
p.A11)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, California to
date had 319,507 cases of coronavirus and 7,030 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 34,970 cases and 643 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,271,549 with the death toll at 135,029.
   (sfist.com, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Florida announced
15,299 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total in any
state. This raised Florida's total to 269,811.
   (SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Joanna Cole (75),
author of children's books, died Sioux City, Iowa. She teamed with
the illustrator Bruce Degen to create one of the most popular and
enduring children’s book series of recent decades, the bizarre but
educational adventures chronicled under the rubric “The Magic School
Bus”.
   (NY Times, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, US actress Kelly
Preston (57) died in Houston after a silent battle with breast
cancer. Her husband of 28 years, John Travolta, soon confirmed the
news.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Preston)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Armenia and
Azerbaijan engaged in skirmishes on their volatile border that left
four Azerbaijani soldiers dead and several troops wounded on both
sides.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Australia's
government said that it will offer 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders
currently living in Australia a chance to apply for permanent
residence once their current passport expires.
   (SFC, 7/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, China raised its
national-emergency response to its 2nd highest level in the face of
the worse flooding in decades. Flooding in dozens of provinces has
already caused the death or disappearance of 141 people, the loss of
28,000 homes and $11.7 bn in damages.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.34)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Hundreds of
thousands of Hong Kong residents turned up to vote in an unofficial
primary election held by the city’s pro-democracy camp as it gears
up to field candidates for an upcoming legislative poll.
   (AP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Indian drugmaker
Lupin Ltd shut one of its manufacturing plants in Gujarat state
after at least 17 employees at the site tested positive for
COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Iran reported 194
deaths from the COVID-19 disease and 2,186 new cases in the past 24
hours. In total, 257,303 cases have been reported in the country,
including 12,829 deaths. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged all citizens
to help stem the region's deadliest outbreak.
   (AFP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Israel's PM
Benjamin Netanyahu promised to provide speedy financial help for
self-employed workers following protests over the government's
failure to address economic woes brought on by the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Deaths in Mexico
from the coronavirus pandemic rose above 35,000, with the Latin
American country overtaking Italy for the world's fourth-highest
death total.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Voters in Poland
cast ballots in the country's razor blade-close presidential runoff
between the conservative, populist incumbent President Andrzej Duda
and the liberal, pro-Europe Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski in a
battle that reflects deep divisions in this EU nation.
   (AP, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, South Africa
introduced new restrictions, including another ban on alcohol sales,
to prevent drunks from taking up precious space in hospitals and to
help contain the spread of coronavirus.
   (BBC, 7/12/20)(Econ., 8/8/20, p.37)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, It was reported
that Sudan has outlined wide-reaching reforms including allowing
non-Muslims to drink alcohol, and scrapping the apostasy law and
public flogging. The laws were initially approved in April but they
have only now taken effect.
   (BBC, 7/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Sudanese security
forces violently broke up a protest camp in the war-scarred Darfur
region, killing at least protester and wounding a dozen others,
including four children.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, In northwest Yemen
an airstrike late today killed seven children and two women in
Hajjah province. Saudi Arabia has frequently drawn international
criticism for errant airstrikes that have hit schools, hospitals and
wedding parties, killing thousands of civilians.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The Trump
administration escalated its actions against China by stepping
squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing
them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant
maritime claims in the South China Sea.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The US Treasury
said the federal government incurred a June deficit of $864 billion,
its biggest monthly budget deficit in history.
   (SFC, 7/14/20, p.A6)  Â
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, A US district
judge ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before the
first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal
prison in Indiana. Daniel Lewis Lee (47) had been scheduled to die
today by lethal injection for the 1996 killing in Arkansas of gun
dealer William Mueller, his wife and her daughter (8). The Trump
administration immediately appealed to a higher court, asking that
the executions move forward.
   (AP, 7/13/20)(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The federal judge
who presided over Roger Stone's criminal case ordered the government
to explain the scope of President Donald Trump's order commuting
Stone's prison term, saying it was unclear whether the clemency
decision also impacts his term of supervised release by the US
probation office.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, A US federal judge
agreed to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19
pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an
abortion pill.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, California's
governor clamped new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus cases
and hospitalizations soared, and the state's two largest school
districts, in Los Angeles and San Diego, said children would be made
to stay home in August.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, California to
date had 333,356 cases of coronavirus and 7,089 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 36,150 cases and 656 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,353,348 with the death toll at 135,524.
   (sfist.com, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Grant Imahara
(b.1970), American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television
host, died in Los Angeles due to a brain aneurysm. From 2004 to 2014
Imahara was one of the presenters on the popular cable TV series
"MythBusters" (2003-2018).
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.B2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Daniel Snyder,
owner of the Washington Redskins football team, announced that the
name and logo of the team would be retired.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.23)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, A US federal judge
in Georgia struck down a state anti-abortion law approved last year
calling it unconstitutional.
   (SFC, 7/14/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In Michigan the
body of Susie Zhao (33), a professional poker player, was found
burned in a parking lot at the Pontiac Lake State Recreation area. A
Pontiac resident (60), wanted in connection to Zhao's death, was
arrested on July 31.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y2vjm75q)(ABC News, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Tennessee Gov.
Bill Lee signed one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. A
federal judge in Nashville quickly blocked it.
   (SFC, 7/14/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The Open Society
Foundations, the philanthropic group founded by the business magnate
George Soros, announced that it is investing $220 million in efforts
to achieve racial equality in America.
   (NY Times, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Semiconductor
maker Analog Devices Inc said it would buy rival Maxim Integrated
Products Inc for about $21 billion in the largest US deal this year,
aiming to boost its market share in automotive and 5G chipmaking.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, PerkinElmer said
it anticipates its second-quarter revenue will climb approximately
12%. The company said the increase was driven by
better-than-expected demand for its full-suite of solutions aimed at
helping support customers’ COVID-19 testing needs around the world.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Pfizer Inc and
partner BioNTech SE said two of their experimental coronavirus
vaccines received 'fast track' designation from the US health
agency, speeding up the regulatory review process.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, G7 finance
ministers called for full implementation of a G20 freeze in debt
service payments by all official bilateral creditors and adherence
to debt data transparency standards. In a teleconference the G7
ministers also discussed domestic and international economic
responses to the coronavirus pandemic and strategies to achieve a
robust global recovery.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In northern
Afghanistan Taliban insurgents launched an attack on an intelligence
compound in Aybak, Samangan province, killing at least 11
intelligence agency personnel. A suicide bomber and two insurgents
were killed.
   (SFC, 7/14/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Bangladesh
officials said more than a million people have been marooned
following two weeks of heavy rains, with the worst of it in the last
few days.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Brazil's
government fired Lubia Vinhas, an official at the national space
agency Inpe whose department is responsible for satellite monitoring
of the Amazon rainforest.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, China said it will
impose sanctions on three US lawmakers and one ambassador in
response to similar actions taken by the US last week against
Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against Muslims
in the Xinjiang region. US Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Rep.
Chris Smith and Ambassador for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback were
targeted, as was the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The Czech Republic
reimposed restrictions for travel to Serbia and Montenegro after a
spike of new coronavirus cases in the Balkan countries.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Prominent Egyptian
journalist    Mohamed Monir (65), who had been
jailed on charges of broadcasting false news, died of COVID-19 at a
Cairo hospital. Monir had contracted the disease in pre-trial
detention and was released on July 2 after falling ill in custody.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Indonesia reported
1,282 new cases, bringing the total count to 76,981.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Iran reported 203
new coronavirus fatalities that took the overall toll in the Middle
East's deadliest outbreak to 13,032. The overall number of cases
rose to 259,652.
   (AFP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Paschal Donohue
(b.1974), Ireland's finance minister, took office as president of
the Eurogroup, the influential club of euro-zone finance ministers.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.44)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Israeli police and
Jerusalem municipal officials scuffled with protesters demonstrating
against PM Benjamin Netanyahu as officers dismantled tents set up by
the demonstrator's outside the premier's residence.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Ivory Coast's vice
president Daniel Kablan Duncan submitted his resignation less than a
week after PM Amadou Gon Coulibaly died in Abidjan, throwing the
West African country's political scene into further disarray three
months before pivotal national elections.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, It was reported
that a Lebanese waste management company is quarantining some 133
Syrian workers who tested positive for the coronavirus. Lebanon
recorded a new daily high for infections.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The Japan
Federation of Medical Worker's Unions said about a third of Japanese
medical institutions are cutting summer bonuses to staff, as many
hospitals and clinics face a cash crunch, having had to delay
routine treatments to make room for coronavirus patients.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Malaysia's PM
Muhyiddin Yassin secured a parliamentary majority (111-109) in favor
of changing the speaker of the lower house. This meant that a
no-confidence vote filed in May would likely not be debated.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.29)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In Mali a measure
of calm returned to Bamako as traffic again began to circulate on
two of the city's main bridges, major choke points that protesters
had targeted. 11 people have died and 124 have been injured in three
days of unrest.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Russian Pres.
Vladimir Putin supported a proposal to extend the deadline for a
25.7 trillion ruble ($363 billion) package of state spending, known
as the national projects, by six years until 2030 due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, It was reported
that Russian prosecutors have brought charges of premeditated murder
against three Moscow teenage sisters for killing their abusive
father. Krestina, Angelina and Maria stabbed their 57-year old
father Mikhail Khachaturyan in July 2018 after enduring years of
intimidation, beatings and sexual abuse.
   (The Telegraph, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In eastern Russia
thousands of demonstrators in Khabarovsk demonstrated for a third
straight day against the July 9 arrest of regional Gov. Sergei
Furgal, a member of the nationalist Liberal Party.
   (SFC, 7/14/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Russia reported
6,537 new coronavirus cases, pushing its overall tally to 733,699,
the fourth largest reported in the world.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Somalia’s army
chief survived an assassination attempt when a suicide car bomber
targeted his convoy in Mogadishu. At least one person was killed by
the blast.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, A statue of
British imperialist Cecil Rhodes was decapitated overnight in Cape
Town in South Africa. Rhodes, a white supremacist, led the British
colonization of parts of southern Africa during the 19th Century and
made a fortune from mining.
   (BBC, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In South Sudan two
aid workers were shot dead along with four people they were helping
after members of an unknown armed group attacked them in Pajut town,
Jonglei state.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Swiss-based Lonza
Group said that China's Junshi Biosciences has licensed the contract
drug manufacturer's technology to help produce a neutralizing
antibody against COVID-19. The antibody, JS016, has entered clinical
trials in China, with the first healthy volunteer dosed on June 8 in
an early-stage safety study. Junshi Biosciences is collaborating
with Eli Lilly to co-develop the antibody.
   (Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The United Nations
said the ranks of the world’s hungry grew by 10 million last year
and warns that the coronavirus pandemic could push as many as 130
million more people into chronic hunger this year.
   (AP, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The UN Commission
of Inquiry on Burundi urged the East African country's new
government to "break the cycle of violence" and start cooperating
with the United Nations.
   (AFP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, The World Bank
said the coronavirus pandemic has triggered the Africa's first
recession in 25 years.
   (BBC, 7/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, President Donald
Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and an executive order that
he said will hold China accountable for its oppressive actions
against the people of Hong Kong.
   (AP, 7/14/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.31)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, The Trump
administration rescinded a rule that would have required
international students to transfer or leave the country if their
schools held classes entirely online because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Indiana, the US
federal government carried out its first execution in almost two
decades, killing by lethal injection Daniel Lewis Lee (47), a man
convicted of murdering an Arkansas family in 1996 as part of a plot
to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest. His final
words were: "You’re killing an innocent man.” Lee’s co-defendant and
the reputed ringleader, Chevie Kehoe, received a life sentence.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In the SF Bay Area
council members in Berkeley approved a reform measure that calls for
a committee tasked with police reforms. They include removing the
police department from responding to calls involving people
experiencing homelessness or mental illness and finding ways to
eventually cut the police budget by half. The vote also called for
the creation of a separate city department to handle the enforcement
of parking and traffic laws.
   (The Guardian, 7/15/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, California to
date had 343,199 cases of coronavirus and 7,221 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 37,494 cases and 667 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,424,204 with the death toll at 136,432.
   (sfist.com, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Florida reported a
record new 132 deaths bringing the COVID-19 fatality total to 4,513.
Florida announced 12,624 new cases of COVID-19. Forty states have
reported an upward trend test-positivity rate over the last week.
   (Good Morning America, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, The FBI arrested
an Indiana woman (19) they say was torturing and graphically killing
cats and dogs. Private citizens helped identify Krystal Cherika
Scott using social media and providing the information to law
enforcement.
   (Insider, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Kentucky 87
people were arrested and charged with a felony after a protest on
the lawn of Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The protesters were
demanding that charges be filed against the officers responsible for
the March shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
   (CBS News, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Michigan David
Hudson (54), from Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to defrauding his
former employer Cummins Bridgeway LLC (CBL) of more than $4.5
million.
   (Autoblog, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In New York City
the body of Fahim Saleh (33), a technology entrepreneur who founded
Nigeria's Gokada ride-hailing app, was found decapitated and
dismembered in a luxury apartment with a power saw plugged in
nearby. Nigerian state officials in February banned all motorcycle
taxis, known locally as 'okada'. On July 16 Tyrese Devon Haspil
(21), Fahim Saleh's personal assistant, was taken into custody.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)(ABC News, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper said that he was ordering public schools to
reopen for classroom instruction in August if they are able to
maintain social distancing for students and staff and meet other
conditions.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, North
Carolina-based life sciences company IQVIA Holdings Inc said it
would collaborate with AstraZeneca Plc to speed up clinical studies
of the British drugmaker's potential COVID-19 vaccine in the United
States.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Reta Mays (46), a
former Veterans Affairs nursing assistant in West Virginia, pleaded
guilty in federal court to killing seven hospital patients in
2017-2018 by injecting them with unnecessary insulin, and assaulting
another patient with intent to murder. In October Tentative
settlements were reached in several civil lawsuits filed on behalf
of the families of veterans who died at a West Virginia hospital.
   (ABC News, 7/14/20)(AP, 10/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Landos Biopharma,
a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery
and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune
disease, announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase
1 study of NX-13, the Company’s novel, orally administered
therapeutic candidate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel
disease.
   (Global Newswire, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Swiss drugmaker
Roche said it has struck a $1.7 billion cancer drug pact with
Blueprint Medicines, as advances in genetic testing for rare
mutations drive lucrative deals for expensive treatments.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, US industrial
conglomerate 3M Co said it has partnered with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology to develop a rapid antigen test for
COVID-19.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, New research was
published showing that the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas
methane are soaring to new and dangerous highs.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Scientists
reported that a low dose of radiation to the lungs of COVID-19
pneumonia patients can help them recover more quickly. Doctors at
Emory University in Atlanta treated 10 such patients with lung
radiation and compared them to 10 patients of similar ages who
received usual care, without radiation. With radiation, the average
time to significant improvement was three days, compared to 12 days
in the control group.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Armenia and
Azerbaijan forces fought with heavy artillery and drones, leaving at
least 16 people killed on both sides, including an Azerbaijani
general, in the worst outbreak of hostilities in years.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Belarus
authorities barred Valery Tsepkalo and Vikto Babariko from running
in the August 9 presidential election presidential elections. Police
officers detained more than 250 people after mass protests erupted
against the barring.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A2)(AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Britain became one
of the few countries to agree to ban the Chinese technology company
Huawei from making equipment for Britain’s high-speed wireless
network. US officials fear China could use such equipment to spy or
launch a cyberattack.
   (NY Times, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Britain and France
moved to make face coverings compulsory in more places as both
countries try to get their economies going while at the same time
seeking to prevent further coronavirus outbreaks.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, A court in the
West African nation of Cape Verde approved the extradition to the
United States of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman wanted on
suspicion of money laundering on behalf of Venezuela's socialist
government. His legal team planned to appeal. In 2021 it was
reported that Saab was carrying a letter from Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro accrediting him to Iran's supreme leader.
   (AP, 8/4/20)(AP, 1/21/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Egypt a
ruptured crude oil pipeline set off a monstrous blaze on a desert
highway, injuring at least 17 people.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Ethiopia entered
its third week without internet service for almost everyone after
days of deadly unrest, as the government said it’s trying to prevent
speech that could further inflame ethnic tensions.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Hong Kong reported
over 200 new coronavirus cases in the last week, following nearly a
month without a single case. For at least the next week, Hong Kong
is closing bars, gyms, playgrounds, pools and entertainment venues,
including Hong Kong Disneyland.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Indian
pharmaceutical company Zydus said it had started human studies for
its potential COVID-19 vaccine, as infections continue to surge in
the world's third worst-hit nation.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, India reported
906,752 cases of the coronavirus with 28,498 new infections, the
third highest total in the world behind Brazil and the United
States.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Indian officials
reported six more deaths in Assam state due to floods and mudslides.
This brought the total death toll to 77 from more than two weeks of
heavy rains.
   (SFC, 7/15/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Iranian state TV
reported that authorities have executed two men convicted of a 2010
bombing at a military parade in northwestern Iran that killed 12
spectators. The country's judiciary said that Iran last week
executed Reza Asgari, a former employee of the defense ministry who
was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence
Agency.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, In Iran a judicial
spokesman confirmed three young men were on death row after being
convicted of violent offences related to protesting. Iranians
rallied around the Farsi-language hashtag “don’t execute” to demand
clemency.
   (The Telegraph, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Mexico reported
7,051 new infections and 836 additional deaths, as it proposed to
the United States extending a ban on non-essential travel by land
over their shared border for another 30 days.
   (Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, It was reported
that a human-like robot designed to look and act like a female clerk
has started providing services to the public at a government office
in Perm, Siberia.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Russia confirmed
6,248 new coronavirus infections bringing the country's official
number of cases to 739,947. Over the past 24 hours, 175 people have
died bringing the total death toll to 11,614.
   (AP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, The UN's top court
(ICJ) backed Qatar in a bitter row with four Middle East nations
that imposed an air blockade against Doha after accusing it of
backing radical Islamists and Iran. The acrimonious standoff erupted
three years ago pitting Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates against Qatar.
   (AFP, 7/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The Trump
administration imposed sanctions on companies connected to a Russian
businessman who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and
suspected of helping finance the covert social media campaign aimed
at American voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, It was reported
that US Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under
cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general.
The plan eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal
workers and says employees must adopt a "different mindset” to
ensure the Postal Service’s survival during the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, US Customs placed
a detention order on imports of products made by subsidiaries of the
world's largest medical glove maker, Malaysia's Top Glove Corp Bhd,
an action taken against firms suspected of using forced labor.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, US authorities
alleged in a lawsuit that former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh used
bribery proceeds and stolen government funds to buy a mansion in a
suburb of Washington, DC, as they sought to seize the property.
Jammeh reportedly acquired at least 281 properties during his time
in office and operated more than 100 private bank accounts directly
or through companies or foundations in which he has shares or an
interest.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The US military
accused Russian mercenaries fighting on the side of eastern Libya
forces of planting land mines and improvised explosive devices in
and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, A US judge halted
the execution of Wesley Ira Purkey (68), a man said to be suffering
from dementia, who had been set to die by lethal injection in the
federal government’s second execution after a 17-year hiatus.
Purkey, convicted of a gruesome 1998 kidnapping and killing, was
scheduled for execution this evening at the US Penitentiary in Terre
Haute, Indiana.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, A federal judge in
California late today blocked a rollback by the Trump administration
of a rule on slashing emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas
methane from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands.
   (Reuters, 7/16/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, California to
date had 353,412 cases of coronavirus and 7,341 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 38,374 cases and 674 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,491,935 with the death toll at 137,277.
   (sfist.com, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Fast-food staffers
across Illinois and California filed complaints with city officials,
walked from their jobs and staged strikes against quick service
giants McDonald's and Burger King, demanding better treatment and
proper workplace protections from the raging pandemic.
   (Good Morning America, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Georgia Republican
Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order late today, which outright
banned cities and counties in the state from issuing mask orders to
help stop the spread of COVID-19.
   (Good Morning America, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Atlanta teenager
Julian Conley (19), suspected in the killing an 8-year-old girl near
the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed by police last month,
surrendered. Secoriea Turner, was shot to death while riding in a
car with her mother and a friend on July 4. Conley's attorney said
his client witnessed the shooting, but did not open fire himself.
   (AP, 7/16/20)(SFC, 7/16/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, A US judge
sentenced former Honolulu police officer John Rabago (44), to four
years in prison for forcing a homeless man to lick a public urinal,
telling him to imagine someone doing that to his two young
daughters.
   (NBC News, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Oklahoma Gov.
Kevin Stitt announced that he has tested positive for the
coronavirus, weeks after attending a campaign rally for President
Trump in Tulsa.
   (Yahoo News, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, It was reported
that federal agents have seized more than 20 vehicles and the money
from 10 bank accounts belonging to married US Army veterans in
Texas, saying the pair used personal information stolen from
soldiers to defraud the military out of as much as $11 million.
Kevin Pelayo and Cristine Fredericks allegedly used a transportation
reimbursement program for federal employees to swindle the Army out
of $2.3 million to $11.3 million.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Texas reported a
record number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths with 10,791 new cases
and 110 new fatalities. Texas has now 282,365 confirmed cases and
3,432 fatalities statewide.
   (Good Morning America, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, BD Corp. said the
US government will buy Becton, Dickinson and Co's COVID-19 testing
devices and kits, as it ramps up its testing for the virus that has
been spreading at an alarming rate.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Peacock, a US TV
video streaming service, was launched by NBCUniversal, a part of the
cable provider Comcast.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.52)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Tweets promising
bitcoin rewards hit some of the platform's largest accounts this
afternoon, rolling through some of the largest and most influential
Twitter accounts. Big companies were hit as were major political and
politics-adjacent figures. Twitter put out a statement promising to
investigate and "fix it," and locked down the accounts of those
impacted and restricted all verified accounts.
   (Good Morning America, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The Financial
Stability Board (FSB), an international body that coordinates
regulation for the Group of 20 major economies, warned global
financial system remains vulnerable to further liquidity stresses
and a potential "sudden and sharp" market repricing as economies
continue to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic. FSB chair Randal
Quarles is also vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, which has
taken a raft of measures to keep cheap money flowing and prop up
ailing companies.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, A global review of
published studies found that the death rate for COVID-19 intensive
care patients has dropped by about one-third since the start of the
pandemic, due at least in part to better hospital care.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, In Bulgaria
thousands of mostly young people took to the streets for a seventh
day to protest against the government, accusing it of corruption,
authoritarian rule and dependence on criminal groups. PM Boyko
Borissov's center-right government faced a vote of no-confidence
brought by the left-wing opposition.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, China's Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said China is facing outbreaks of a
debilitating virus in cattle that causes a condition called 'lumpy
skin disease', following an incident on a farm in the eastern
province of Zhejiang this week. Taiwan also reported its first case
of the disease this month on Kinmen Island. The disease does not
affect people and is thought to be spread by flies or mosquitoes.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, In Colombia Mario
Paciolla (33), a UN volunteer from Naples, was found dead at his
home in San Vicente de Caguán, a town in the southern jungle long
used as a strategic rearguard for rebel groups and drug traffickers.
   (The Guardian, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The European Union
executive urged member states to launch earlier and broader
vaccination campaigns against flu this year to reduce the risk of
simultaneous influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in the autumn.
   (Reuters, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, A European court
overruled a 2016 decision that ordered Apple to pay $14.9 billion in
unpaid taxes to Ireland.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.C2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, France's new PM
Jean Castex laid out $110 billion in new spending to rescue the
virus-battered economy from its worst crisis since World War II.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, It was reported
that death threats in Guatemala have driven two anti-corruption
prosecutors from the country in the past year, and their unit’s
leader has a protective order from a regional human rights
commission because he is constantly harassed and threatened.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, In Indonesia the
death toll from a flash flood in South Sulawesi province rose to 21
with two people missing. The flooding began July 13 triggered by
heavy rains that caused three rivers to overflow.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu announced a plan to distribute hundreds of
dollars in grants to every Israeli in order to stimulate the
country's sagging economy, days after thousands of people took to
the streets to protest his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Jordan's high
court dissolved the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y45fes8u)(Econ., 9/12/20,
p.40)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Mongolia's health
ministry said a boy (15) has died of bubonic plague after eating an
infected marmot in Gobi-Altai province.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Peru's Pres.
Martin Vizcarra reshuffled his cabinet, sacked the health minister
and brought in Pedro Cateriano as prime minister as coronavirus
cases passed 350,000 with at least 13,000 deaths.
   (Econ., 7/25/20, p.24)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, An airstrike by a
Saudi-led coalition killed at least 10 civilians, including six
children and two women, in the mountainous northern Yemeni province
of Jawf.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, International
scientists released a study that found the greenhouse effect
multiplied the chance of the Siberia region’s prolonged heat by at
least 600 times, and maybe tens of thousands of times. They found
that without climate change the type of prolonged heat that hit
Siberia would happen once in 80,000 years, “effectively impossible
without human influence”.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, In Tunisia PM
Elyes Fakhfakh (b.1972) resigned over allegations of conflict of
interest.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elyes_Fakhfakh)(Econ., 8/15/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The United Nations
Security Council heard that up to 1.1 million barrels of oil could
spill into the Red Sea causing a disaster four times worse than the
1989 Exxon Valdez spill. The Yemeni-government owned tanker, FSO
Safer, started taking on water in May.
   (NBC News, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, It was reported
that the United Nations has asked the Nicolas Maduro regime to
dismantle criminal gangs running gold mines in Venezuela's Amazon
region. Nearly 150 people are reported to have died in or around the
gold mines from March 2016 to 2020. Venezuelan human rights and
environmental groups have said that legal and illegal mining are
rapidly decimating Venezuela's Amazon. A UN report on Venezuela
cited documented cases of executions, torture and forced
disappearances. Among the atrocities cited is the execution of 38
young men by Pres. Nicolas Maduro’s hit squads.
   (The Independent, 7/15/20)(AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, It was reported
that coronavirus cases in Venezuela have jumped in recent weeks and
two top lieutenants of President Nicolas Maduro have tested
positive, triggering warnings from health workers that the pandemic
may overwhelm the country's already battered healthcare system.
   (AP, 7/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Zimbabwe postponed
the reopening of schools citing rising numbers of confirmed cases of
COVID-19. New cases numbered 1,064 along with 20 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The United States
carried out its second federal execution in three days following a
hiatus of nearly two decades, killing by lethal injection Wesley Ira
Purkey, a Kansas man, whose lawyers contended he had dementia and
was unfit to be executed. Purkey was put to death at the Federal
Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was sentenced to be
executed for kidnapping and killing Jennifer Long (16), before
dismembering, burning and dumping her body in a septic pond. He was
also convicted in a state court in Kansas of using a claw hammer to
kill an 80-year-old woman who had polio.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, A US Pentagon
report said Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters
to Libya over the first three months of the year.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The US CDC
reported that nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last
year. Fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids accounted for 36,500
overdose deaths.
   (SFC, 7/17/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, California
reported its largest two-day total of confirmed cases, nearly
20,000, along with 258 deaths over 48 hours. Military doctors,
nurses and other health care specialists were being deployed to
eight hospitals facing staffing shortages amid a record-breaking
case numbers. California to date had 358,468 cases of coronavirus
and 7,414 deaths. The SF Bay Area had 39,217 cases and 680 deaths.
Total cases nationwide reached over 3,560,364 with the death toll at
138,201.
   (AP, 7/16/20)(sfist.com, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The Republican
National Committee said it is sharply restricting attendance on
three of the four nights of its convention in Jacksonville, Florida,
next month, as it looks for ways to move forward with the event
while coronavirus cases are spiking in the state.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Florida reported
the largest one-day increase in deaths from the novel coronavirus
since the pandemic began and its second-largest increase in cases
ever. Florida announced 13,965 new cases, bringing the total number
of cases in the state and the center of the latest outbreak to over
315,775. Deaths rose by 156 to a total of 4,782.
   (Reuters, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Georgia’s Gov.
Brian Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to block the city
from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other rules
related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
   (AP, 7/17/20)(SFC, 7/17/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Texas reported
10,000 new cases for the third straight day and 129 additional
deaths. In Houston, an 86-person Army medical team worked to take
over a wing of United Memorial Medical Center.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, It was reported
that a solar probe built by the European Space Agency and NASA has
delivered the closest photos ever taken of the sun's surface,
revealing a landscape rife with thousands of tiny solar flares that
scientists dubbed "campfires" and offering clues about the extreme
heat of the outermost part of its atmosphere.
   (Reuters, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, It was reported
that countries around the world are reimposing lockdowns to curb the
resurgence of the coronavirus. More than 13 million cases have been
confirmed worldwide with over 578,000 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Clashes resumed
between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on their shared border, with
both sides blaming each other for attacks that continue the worst
outbreak of hostilities in years. Azerbaijan said it has lost 11
servicemen and one civilian in three days of fighting. Armenia said
four of its troops were killed on July 14.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Brazil's federal
health ministry reported that the country had passed 2 million
confirmed cases of virus infections and 76,000 deaths.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Britain, the
United States and Canada accused Russia of trying to steal
information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Shamima Begum, a
UK woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group,
won the right to return to Britain to fight for the restoration of
her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. She
is one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in
2015.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Officials in the
English city of Bristol removed a statue of Jen Reid, a Black Lives
Matter activist, that was installed on a pedestal once occupied by a
monument to a 17th-century slave trader. It was erected before dawn
a day earlier without the approval of city authorities.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, China's National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said China's economy returned to growth
in the second quarter following a coronavirus contraction, with
President Xi Jinping promising continued expansion ahead and urging
foreign companies to be a part of it.
   (AFP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, In CongoDRC at
least 40 people disappeared after members of the armed group known
as Ngumino attacked the village of Kipupu while they were being
pursued by the Mai Mai rebel group. Fighting that followed between
the armed groups in villages in South Kivu province killed at least
43 people.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, A ruling by the EU
Court of Justice saw the "EU-US privacy shield" invalidated due to
concerns over the privacy of Europeans, with the court suggesting US
surveillance laws were too far-reaching.
   (The Telegraph, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Indian officials
reported 16 more deaths in Assam state due to floods and mudslides.
This brought the total death toll to 93 from more than two weeks of
heavy rains.
   (SFC, 7/17/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Iran's police
dispersed protesters in Khuzestan province angry over the Islamic
Republic's anemic economy amid a US sanctions campaign, and internet
access to the wider region was disrupted as demonstrators shared
videos of the rally.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Israel's Health
Ministry reported 1,898 new cases of the virus. The country has
registered more than 44,500 total cases. At least 380 Israelis have
died of COVID-19.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The Rijksmuseum
Boerhaave museum in the Dutch city of Leiden finally opened an
exhibition on contagious diseases through the ages after a long
delay caused by the disease currently sweeping the world — COVID-19.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, North Macedonia's
pro-Western Social Democrats said they were ready to start
complicated power-sharing negotiations after winning a narrow
election victory in a poll held up for months by the COVID-19
pandemic. Former PM Zoran Zaev's Social Democrats declared victory
after receiving 36% of the vote with 94% of ballots counted.
Authorities announced 94 new infections and eight deaths, raising
the confirmed death toll to 401.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, It was reported
that Russia plans to produce 30 million doses of an experimental
COVID-19 vaccine domestically this year, with the potential to
manufacture a further 170 million abroad. The first human trial of
the vaccine, a month-long test on 38 people, ended this week. A
100-person Phase II trial wraps up on August 3.
   (AP, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Sudan said River
Nile water levels have dropped as a reservoir behind Ethiopia's
Grand Renaissance dam has filled up, hitting out at "any unilateral
actions taken by any party." Both Sudan and Egypt are downstream,
and fear the large dam will greatly reduce their access to water.
   (BBC, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Swiss drugmaker
Novartis's Sandoz division said it will not profit from 15 generic
drugs it is making available to developing countries to treat
symptoms of COVID-19 for the pandemic's duration.
   (Reuters, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, It was reported
that Tiwakorn Vithiton (45) has been admitted against his will to a
psychiatric hospital after posting a photo online showing himself
wearing a shirt with the motto "I have lost all faith in the
institution of monarchy." The country's lese majeste law carries a
punishment of 3-15 years in prison.
   (SFC, 7/16/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, The United Arab
Emirates said Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm
has begun Phase III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Abu
Dhabi using up to 15,000 volunteers. The human trial is a
partnership between Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group (CNBG),
Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company
Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.
   (Reuters, 7/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, It was reported
that a Middle Eastern subsidiary of UK cigarette filter maker
Essentra has agreed to pay a fine of more than half a million pounds
to US authorities to settle criminal allegations that it breached
sanctions on North Korea. The UAE-based entity, called Essentra FZE,
has been fined $665,000.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, The Pentagon
banned displays of the Confederate flag on military installations,
in a carefully worded policy that doesn't mention the word ban or
that specific flag.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, The US Justice
Department filed a series of lawsuits seeking to recover at least
$104 million in funds allegedly embezzled by former officials in
Kuwait's Ministry of Defense. Three unnamed individuals, who were
high-level officials in Kuwait's Ministry of Defense, opened six
unauthorized bank accounts between 2009 and 2016 and used the
accounts to facilitate the transfer of more than $100 million in
Kuwaiti public funds to California bank accounts connected to
convicted felon Victorino Noval (58).
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, US Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg (87) said she is receiving chemotherapy for a
recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme
Court.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey said a ban on evictions would be extended until Oct. 31 to
ensure people wouldn't lose their homes if they contracted COVID-19.
   (SFC, 7/18/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Arkansas Gov. Asa
Hutchinson issued an order requiring people to wear masks in public
throughout the state, effective as of July 20. COVID-19 cases have
surged in the state since restrictions were lifted in May.
   (SFC, 7/18/20, p.A6)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, California to
date had 367,367 cases of coronavirus and 7,526 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 40,068 cases and 697 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,634,807 with the death toll at 139,076.
   (sfist.com, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Georgia
Congressman John Lewis (80), a civil rights icon and the last of the
Big Six civil rights activists led by the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr., died in Atlanta.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, The Rev. C.T.
Vivian (95), an early and key adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. who organized pivotal campaigns in the civil rights movement and
spent decades after advocating for justice and equality, died in
Atlanta, Ga.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, The US Attorney’s
office in Chicago announced that ComEd is paying a $200 million
criminal fine as part of a federal investigation into a “years-long
bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments to allies of
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
   (Chicago Tribune, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, In Florida three
friends were found brutally murdered at a local lake. In the moments
before he died, one of the victims was able to call his father and
report the attack. No one has been arrested in the triple murder.
   (ABC News, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, The US government
executed Dustin Lee Honken (52), a convicted murderer, at the
federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Honken was a dealer in
illegal methamphetamine when he and his girlfriend murdered five
people in Iowa in 1993.
   (Reuters, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Portland Mayor Ted
Wheeler demanded that President Donald Trump remove militarized
federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on
streets far from federal property they were sent to protect.
Democratic members of Oregon's congressional delegation said they
will demand a federal investigation into the deployment of federal
officers in Portland, where local leaders say their presence outside
federal buildings has inflamed tensions during nightly protests and
led to violent confrontations and questionable arrests in recent
weeks.
   (AP, 7/17/20)(NBC News, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, It was reported
that of the 1,798 inmates at the Federal Correctional Institute at
Seagoville, Texas, at least 1,072 have contracted the coronavirus
virus. Ten staff members have also tested positive and four have
recovered.
   (NBC News, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, In Texas the body
of Pvt. Mejhor Morta (26) in the vicinity of Stillhjouse Hollow
Lake, near the Fort Hood army base. The was third soldier from Fort
Hood to be found dead this month in the area.
   (SFC, 7/23/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Taliban officials
said they have put Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob (30), the son of the
movement's feared founder, in charge of their military wing and
added several powerful figures to their negotiating team. The
shake-up, one of the most significant in years, comes ahead of
expected talks with Kabul aimed at ending decades of war in
Afghanistan.
   (AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Authorities in
Australia's second-biggest city Melbourne meanwhile warned that its
lockdown could become even tougher after a record 423 new cases were
registered there.
   (AFP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, It was reported
that British ministers are making plans to distribute millions of
free coronavirus antibody tests after a version backed by the UK
government passed its first major trials. The fingerprick tests,
which can tell within 20 minutes if a person has ever been exposed
to the coronavirus, were found to be 98.6% accurate in secret human
trials held in June.
   (Reuters, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, In China flights
were curtailed and public transport shut down in Urumqi, the capital
of the far-western Xinjiang region, after five new infections were
detected. The city also reported eight new asymptomatic cases,
taking Xinjiang's tally to six infections and 11 asymptomatic
patients.
   (AFP, 7/17/20)(Reuters, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Egypt reported a
total of 86,474 COVID-19 cases and 4,188 deaths, including 68 today.
703 new coronavirus cases marked the lowest figure since late May.
   (Reuters, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, EU leaders met
face to face to try to rescue Europe's economy from the ravages of
the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AFP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, India became the
third country to record one million coronavirus cases, joining
Brazil and the United States. A surge of 34,956 cases in the last 24
hours took the confirmed total to 1,003,832. A record 687 deaths
took that total to 25,602.
   (AFP, 7/17/20)(SFC, 7/18/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Israel announced
sweeping new restrictions in response to a new surge in coronavirus
cases, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting
restaurants to takeout and delivery. Israel has recorded over 56,000
cases, but just 430 deaths.
   (AP, 7/17/20)(Econ., 7/25/20, p.35)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Tokyo confirmed
293 coronavirus cases, a single-day record for a 2nd straight day.
   (SFC, 7/18/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, A video began
circulating on social media that appeared to be a show of power by
members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico's
most powerful criminal groups. The release of the video coincided
with a visit by Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to the group’s
heartland.
   (The Independent, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Mexico's Pres.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that he is putting the army in
charge of customs operations at borders and seaports to combat
corruption and the massive smuggling of drugs and prescursor
chemicals.
   (SSFC, 7/19/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Emilio Lozoya, the
former head of Mexico's state-run oil company Pemex, landed in
Mexico City to face corruption charges after being extradited from
Spain. He was immediately hospitalized for anemia and poor health.
   (SFC, 7/18/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Police in North
Macedonia found 55 migrants in two separate incidents. All the
migrants will be deported back to Greece, where they came from.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Kremlin critic
Alexei Navalny (44) was barred from leaving Moscow as police carried
out a new raid on his offices. Navalny said he was questioned by
investigators as part of a new probe into suspected slander over
comments he made on social media.
   (AFP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Russian drugmaker
R-Pharm said it has signed a deal with AstraZeneca for it to
manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the British
pharmaceuticals giant and Oxford University.
   (Reuters, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Seyfi Dursunoglu
(b.1932, also known by his stage name Huysuz Virjin (Grumpy Virgin),
died. He was a Turkish performing artist, comedian, singer, TV
presenter and drag artist. From the 1970s until the 2000s and was a
well-known entertainment figure with his programs in Turkey's
television.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyfi_Dursuno%C4%9Flu)(Econ., 8/1/20,
p.42)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, The US Food and
Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for
pooled COVID-19 testing. Quest Diagnostics will now be able to group
up to four samples together and will only test them individually if
the batch comes back positive.
   (The Week, 7/19/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, California to
date had 375,686 cases of coronavirus and 7,620 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 40,893 cases and 700 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,676,942 with the death toll at 139,748.
   (sfist.com, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Oregon
protesters broke into the Portland Police Association building, set
it on fire and started dumpster fires late today, as demonstrations
that have been taking place since the death of George Floyd
intensified for another night. Navy veteran Christopher David (53),
a peaceful protester, was hit with a baton five times by one of the
militarized federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump.
Another officer, wearing green military camouflage, a helmet and gas
mask, sprayed David full in the face with what appears to be pepper
gas. Video of the incident went viral. Federal authorities had
assembled a force of 114 federal officers to protect US government
buildings in Portland, in response to ongoing protests, unrest and
violence there, as part of a mission dubbed “Operation Diligent
Valor".
   (AP, 7/19/20)(AP, 7/20/20)(Politico, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, A federal appeals
court overruled a judge's decision allowing the Texas Republican
Party to hold an in-person convention in Houston, marking a big win
for the nation's fourth-largest city in an ongoing battle with the
state GOP.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Texas three
people were killed and 9 injured when a vehicle driven by Ivan
Robles (28) crossed a center line and crashed into members of the
Thin Blue Line law Enforcement Motorcycle Club.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Bangladesh,
confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 200,000 but experts say the
number is much higher as the country lacks adequate labs for
testing.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Britain has
registered more than 45,300 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll in
Europe. But the government said it will halt issuing daily updates
to that toll while authorities investigate the way the statistics
are compiled.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Canada's
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said that Ottawa has denied the
Toronto Blue Jays' request to play at the Rogers Centre, their home
stadium, during the shortened 60-game Major League Baseball season.
The Canadian government does not believe it will be safe for the
team to travel back and forth to play teams based in the United
States.
   (The Week, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Canada a
glacier tour bus rolled down a steep embankment in Alberta killing
three passengers and injuring several of 24 others.
   (SFC, 7/20/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Chile had 321,205
confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 7,186 deaths. As a share its
population this was among the highest in the world.
   (Econ., 7/18/20, p.25)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In France
thousands of protesters marched through a Paris suburb to mark the
fourth anniversary of the death of Adama Traoré, a Black man in
police custody whose case has mobilized broad anger against police
brutality and racial injustice in France. The protest was also about
broader anti-government grievances. Climate activists co-organized
this year’s protest.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In France an arson
attack badly damaged the 15th-century Gothic Cathedral of St. Peter
and St. Paul in Nantes. On July 26 authorities detained and charged
a repentant church volunteer after he told investigators that he was
responsible for the arson attack. The 39-year-old Rwandan had been
tasked with the job of locking up the cathedral.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In India, a surge
of 34,884 new coronavirus cases was reported as local governments
continue to re-impose focused lockdowns in several parts of the
country.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Iran’s Pres.
Hassan Rouhani estimated as many as 25 million Iranians could have
been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak's beginning,
and urged the public to take the pandemic seriously. Health
officials have reported 2,166 new cases and 188 deaths in the last
24 hours. Iran has recorded more than 270,000 confirmed cases and at
least 13,979 deaths.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Mexico's Health
Ministry posted a record for new coronavirus cases reported on a
single day, with 7,615 more confirmed cases, bringing its overall
tally of infections to 338,913.
   (Reuters, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, In Russia tens of
thousands of people took to the streets in the Far East in a rare
show of defiance against the Kremlin as they protested the arrest of
a popular governor. The protests in Khabarovsk, a city of some
600,000 people, began a week ago following the sudden arrest of
popular governor Sergei Furgal in a murder probe.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, South Africa's
337,000 cases of coronavirus made up roughly half of all confirmed
infections on the African continent and its struggles are a sign of
trouble to come for nations with fewer health care resources.
   (AP, 7/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, President Donald
Trump pledged that the coronavirus was coming under control.
   (Reuters, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Arizona's totals
for the coronavirus rose to 2,761 deaths and more than 143, 600
infections.
   (SFC, 7/20/20, p.A6)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, California to
date had 383,059 cases of coronavirus and 7,704 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 41,383 cases and 700 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,752,257 with the death toll at 140,395.
   (sfist.com, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, The state of
Florida now has over 350,000 cases of coronavirus with another
12,478 reported today. Officials reported another 87 deaths,
bringing the statewide total to 5,089.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Kentucky reported
979 new coronavirus cases reported, for a total of 23,161. A 30-day
statewide mask mandate went into effect on July 10.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Louisiana Gov.
John Bel Edwards warned citizens that there is a "statewide
epidemic" of COVID-19. Louisiana has had 91,706 cases of COVID-19
and 3,433 deaths, according to the most recent state data.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, A gunman shot the
son of a federal judge at her home in New Jersey. Esther Salas, was
home at the time of the shooting at her residence in North
Brunswick, N.J., but was not injured. Her son, Daniel Anderl, a
college student, died in the shooting and her husband, Mark Anderl,
was injured. On July 20 self-described "anti-feminist" lawyer Roy
Den Hollander, was found dead. He has been identified as the
"primary subject" suspected in the fatal shooting of Anderl.
   (NY Times, 7/20/20)(The Week, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, South Carolina
reported its highest number of daily new cases with 2,335 confirmed
and 1 probable case of COVID-19. The state also recorded 19
additional deaths, bringing the death toll since the start of the
pandemic to 1,138.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Texas reported 93
new COVID-19 fatalities, the first time in five days the number of
deaths has been below 100. The state has reported 3,928 total
fatalities during the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In China the
emergency response level for Beijing was lowered to Level II, after
two weeks of no new coronavirus cases.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Acrimonious
European Union talks over an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1
trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund entered a third
day Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that the
summit of 27 leaders could still end without a deal.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, It was reported
that more than 6,500 coronavirus cases have been recorded in French
Guiana. Officials feared the number of infections is estimated to be
much higher.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In Honduras five
black indigenous men were abducted from their homes by heavily armed
gunmen in police uniforms. Among those abducted was Alberth Snider
Centeno Thomas (27), president of the community board and a
semi-professional footballer. He had previously reported threats
linked to his role defending territorial rights. The abduction of
the five Garifuna men come just weeks after the murder of Antonio
Bernárdez (71), a Garifuna leader from the Punta Piedra community.
   (The Guardian, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Hong Kong
tightened coronavirus restrictions, with non-essential civil
servants told to work from home from this week. The global financial
hub reported more than 100 cases of the coronavirus, a record
number, bringing the city's total to 1,777 including 12 deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)(SFC, 7/20/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, India, which has
now confirmed more than 1 million coronavirus infections, reported a
24-hour record of 38,902 new cases.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Iran's state TV
reported that the execution of three young men who participated in a
November protest has been suspended after the country’s Supreme
Court decided to review their case.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, It was reported
that automotive sensor developer Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd
said it will begin a pilot project in Israel for its COVID-19
symptom detection technology.
   (Reuters, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, South Africa
reported more than 350,800 cases of the coronavirus, ranking it
fifth in the world and accounting for half the infections in Africa.
   (SFC, 7/20/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Syrians headed to
polling stations in government-held parts of the war-torn country to
elect a new parliament amid strict health measures to prevent the
spread of coronavirus. Some 167 seats are allocated for Pres.
Assad’s ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party, guaranteeing it a solid
majority.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In northern Syria
an explosion rocked a rebel-held area across the border from Turkey
late today, killing at least five people and wounding dozens.
Anadolu news reported another blast earlier today that wounded 13
people, including children, in the town of Afrin.
   (AP, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Zimbabwe police
said more than 105,000 people have been arrested since March for
violating regulations aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.
   (BBC, 7/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, President Trump
defended his administration's deployment of federal law enforcement
agents in Portland, Oregon, to target protesters, and threatened to
send agents to more cities.
   (The Week, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, A US federal
appeals panel said that Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla was
properly convicted of helping Iran evade US sanctions in a case that
strained relations with Turkey. He was sentenced to two and a half
years in prison and has since returned to Turkey.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, California to
date had 395,884 cases of coronavirus and 7,716 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 42,520 cases and 708 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,816,427 with the death toll at 140,879.
   (sfist.com, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Former Fox News
employee Jennifer Eckhart filed a lawsuit in a New York federal
court against Fox News and former network anchor Ed Henry, accusing
him of raping her.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, The charred body
of a man who has not yet been identified was found in Max It Pawn,
nearly two months after it was set alight on 28 May, following three
days of Black Lives Matter protests.
   (The Independent, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, In Oregon
protesters outside Portland's US courthouse set a fire in the
building's entryway early today in yet another night of conflict
with federal agents who repeatedly tear gassed the demonstrators to
drive them away.
   (AFP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, In Pennsylvania
Nathan Joseph Quidetto (20), angry over a botched drug deal, fired
several shots into a residence in Derry where he mistakenly thought
someone involved in the deal lived, killing Tracy Marie Squib (52),
who was asleep in her bed. Quidetto was arrested on July 22.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, West Virginia Gov.
Jim Justice said several new COVID-19 outbreaks have been identified
at churches in West Virginia's Grant, Logan, and Wood counties.
   (Good Morning America, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that rich Americans produce nearly 25% more heat-trapping gases than
poorer people at home, according to a comprehensive study of US
residential carbon footprints.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that Chevron will take over Houston-based Noble Energy for $5
billion and assume Noble's debt. The total enterprise value of the
deal was put at $13 billion.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Whole Foods Market
Inc, owned by Amazon, was sued by employees who accused the upscale
grocery retailer of disciplining and retaliating against workers who
wear "Black Lives Matter" face masks on the job, including one who
said she was fired.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that Uber Technologies Inc has quietly launched a service to give
public health officials quick access to data on drivers and riders
presumed to have come into contact with someone infected with
COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Australia's New
South Wales state reported 20 new infections, the highest in three
months. Authorities here have been unable to trace some of the
clusters and state authorities have urged people to avoid
unnecessary travel and public transport.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, The British
government suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and
blocked arms sales to the former British territory following China's
imposition of a new national security law.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Britain said it
had agreed in principle to buy 60 million doses of the Valneva
vaccine, with an option to purchase 40 million more if it proved
safe, effective and suitable. France's Valneva is aiming for
clinical trials of the vaccine to start in November or December this
year. The vaccine uses an adjuvant, or booster, by Dynavax.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Synairgen shares
rose almost sixfold after the British drugmaker said its medicine
helped reduce the risk of severe cases in hospitalized patients with
COVID-19, but some experts have cautioned against too much optimism
in the market.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, A University of
Toronto-led study, published in Nature Climate Change, said polar
bears could be starved into extinction by 2100 as the Arctic sea ice
continues to shrink at alarming rates, making it hard for the bears
to hunt for food.
   (Good Morning America, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Researchers said a
COVID-19 vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics Inc and China's
military research unit has shown to be safe and induced immune
response in most of the recipients. Some participants in the first
CanSino clinical trial in March said in social media posts that
researchers on the project claimed they had been injected Feb. 29,
before regulators gave the study the go-ahead.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)(AP, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that Indian police have arrested 14 people on suspicion of selling
locally made doses of Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir at five times
the maximum retail price as a surge of novel coronavirus cases
boosts demand for the antiviral drug. India's tally of coronavirus
cases has risen to 1.11 million with more than 27,000 deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Egypt’s parliament
authorized the deployment of troops outside the country, a move that
could escalate the spiraling war in Libya after the president
threatened military action against Turkish-backed forces in the
oil-rich country.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Human Rights Watch
said the coronavirus has infected people inside several Egyptian
prisons and killed at least 14 detainees, as authorities seek to
stifle news of the spread of the virus behind bars.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, France began
requiring face masks in supermarkets, shopping malls, banks, stores
and indoor markets to curb signs that the coronavirus is making
inroads again.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that global wealth managers are examining whether their clients in
Hong Kong have ties to the city's pro-democracy movement, in an
attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China's new
national security law, according to six people with knowledge of the
matter.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, India reported
more than 40,000 new cases of coronavirus, a record daily high,
raising the country's total to 1,118,043 including 27,497 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Iran executed
Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, a former translator convicted of spying for
the US and Israel. The judiciary said he helped to locate a top
Iranian general killed later by the Americans. Majd was arrested
about two years ago and was not directly involved in the killing of
General Qasem Soleimani.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, In Iraq Hella
Mewis, a German woman well known in Iraq’s art scene and an ardent
supporter of mass anti-government protests, was kidnapped outside
the Baghdad arts center where she worked.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, An Israeli court
acquitted a soldier and a prison guard in the 2015 killing of Habtom
Zerhom (29), an Eritrean man, who was shot and beaten to death by a
mob in the aftermath of a terror attack after being mistaken for an
assailant.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Japanese drugmaker
Shionogi & Co said it aims to boost production capacity for its
potential coronavirus vaccine to produce enough for 30 million
people annually by the end of 2021.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Dutch electrical
equipment maker Philips said a recent surge in orders for scanners
and other medical equipment should enable group sales and margins to
rebound over the next six months from a slump in the second quarter.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, In North Carolina
the body of Keonna Graham (23) was found in a hotel room in
Shallotte. The following day suspect Michael Todd Hill (52), the
winner of a $10 million lottery in 2017, was arrested in Southport.
   (SFC, 7/23/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that Norway's Adevinta has won the auction to buy the bulk of eBay's
classified ads unit for nearly $9 billion, with the US e-commerce
firm planning to keep a minority stake.
   (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Russia's Pres.
Vladimir Putin appointed lawmaker Mikhail Degtyaryov as acting
governor to the Far Eastern Khabarovsk region, where tens of
thousands have been protesting against the arrest of the popular
incumbent on charges of involvement in multiple murders.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, The Syrian
military said the country’s air defenses responded to Israeli air
raids in south Damascus, saying they wounded seven soldiers and
caused material damage. Israeli airstrikes on military posts south
of Damascus reportedly killed five foreign fighters and wounded
several others.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, A United Arab
Emirates spacecraft began its journey to Mars following blastoff
from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. The probe, named Amal (Hope),
is expected to reach Mars in February 2021.
   (SFC, 7/20/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, The Vatican said
that in very exceptional circumstances and with special permission,
lay Catholics can be allowed to perform marriage rites.
   (AP, 7/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, It was reported
that Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, who recently exposed
alleged government corruption involving coronavirus supplies, has
been charged with inciting public violence. Opposition politician
Jacob Ngarivhume has also been arrested in Harare on the same
charges. In September Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono was
granted bail after being held in jail for more than a month on
charges of inciting violence.
   (BBC, 7/20/20)(The Telegraph, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, President Donald
Trump delivered his first virus briefing after a three-month hiatus
and warned the pandemic would “get worse before it gets better.” The
global tally of people infected with the coronavirus neared 15
million.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, President Donald
Trump issued a presidential memorandum declaring that people living
in the country illegally should be ignored for congressional
apportionment in 2021.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.26)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, The White House
announced the award of $75 million by the National Science
Foundation for new institutes at three US universities to boost
quantum information research.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, The US Justice
Department announced an indictment charging two Chinese nationals —
both in China — with hacking governments, dissidents, human rights
activists and private companies, including those engaged in COVID-19
vaccine research. A grand jury indictment charged Li Xiaoyu (34) and
Dong Jiazhi (33) with conducting a hacking campaign lasting more
than 10 years.
   (NBC News, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Adham Amin Hassoun
(58), a man convicted of terrorism-related crimes, was deported from
the US after a legal battle to hold him indefinitely stalled. In
2007, he was convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim
people in a foreign country along with Jose Padilla, who is still
imprisoned. Hassoun had completed his sentence in 2018 and was then
detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Patriot
Act because authorities could not find a destination.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, California to
date had 407,344 cases of coronavirus and 7,868 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 43,505 cases and 720 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 3,891,813 with the death toll at 141,883.
   (sfist.com, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, In Chicago 15
people were shot, one person was being questioned and multiple
suspects were being sought after gunfire erupted outside a funeral
home on the city's South Side as the federal government moved
forward on plans to deploy more agents to the city where violence is
spiking.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Larry Householder,
the powerful Republican speaker of the Ohio House, and four
associates were arrested in a $60 million federal bribery case
connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power
plants.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, US medical device
maker Becton Dickinson and Co said it has received additional orders
from the United States and Canada governments for 177 million
syringes and needles for COVID-19 vaccination programs.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)  Â
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Democratic
presidential candidate Joe Biden outlined a sweeping plan aimed at
breathing life into the coronavirus-battered U.S. economy by
investing $775 billion in caregiving programs for children, the
elderly and the disabled.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, It was reported
that Biogen is seeking to layer its $750,000 spinal muscular atrophy
drug on top of $2.1 million-per-patient Novartis gene therapy
Zolgensma.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, In Britain Kevan
Jones, a member of the House of Commons Intelligence and Security
Committee ((ISC), published his report into Russian interference in
British politics.
   (Econ., 7/25/20, p.36)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Bulgaria’s
center-right government survived the fifth no-confidence vote called
by the Socialist opposition over its alleged failure to curb
widespread graft. The protesters gathered in front of parliament and
voiced dissatisfaction with what they call a corrupt model of
governance in which influential media moguls and oligarchs support
PM Boyko Borissov in return for state-sponsored favors.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, In Egypt an
Islamic militant attack in northern Sinai killed two government
troops and wounded four others. Armed forces, backed by airpower,
reportedly killed 18 suspected Islamic militants and destroyed four
vehicles, including three car bombs.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Ethiopia’s PM Abiy
Ahmed said his country, Egypt and Sudan have reached a “major common
understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement” on a
massive dam project that has led to sharp regional tensions and led
some to fear military conflict.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, EU leaders reached
a deal early today on a huge stimulus plan for coronavirus-ravaged
economies. The $2.1 trillion budget agreement, which came at the end
of a five-day summit in Brussels, included a $857.33 billion
recovery fund to help lift the continent out of its worst recession
since World War II.
   (The Week, 7/21/20)(Econ., 7/25/20, p.39)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, German biotech
company CureVac said Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has taken an
undisclosed stake in the firm as part of a $126 million financing
round, the latest high-profile investor to come onboard ahead of a
potential stock market listing.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Hong Kong reported
61 new coronavirus cases, including 58 that were locally
transmitted, adding to a slew of new cases which have hit the global
financial hub over the past two weeks.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Iran reported a
new single-day record death toll of 229 from the novel coronavirus,
after weeks of rising numbers in the Middle East's worst-hit
country. This raised the overall toll to 14,634. The country's
caseload rose to 278,827, with 2,625 more people testing positive
for the disease in the past day.
   (AFP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Iraqi PM Mustafa
al-Kadhemi met Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran during his
first trip abroad since taking office. They had discussed expanding
trade ties, fighting the novel coronavirus and efforts to ensure
regional stability.
   (AFP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Mexico reported
5,172 new coronavirus cases bringing its total to almost 350,000 .
Daily deaths fell to 301 for a total of 39,500.
   (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, First Deputy
Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov told Argumenty i Fakty newspaper
that Russia’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus is ready.
   (Good Morning America, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, South Korea's SK
Bioscience said it has agreed to manufacture AstraZeneca's
experimental COVID-19 vaccine to help the British company build
global supplies of the vaccine that has shown promise against the
new coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, It was reported
that Catalonia leads Spain's 19 regions with 9,600 new reported
COVID-19 cases since May 10 and its growth rate has more than
doubled in the past three weeks.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Uganda recorded
its first coronavirus death. The country's first case was confirmed
on March 22 and since then confirmed cases have risen to more than
1,000. Only a few thousand daily tests were being performed.
   (SFC, 7/24/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, In northwestern
Ukraine an armed man seized a long-distance bus and took people in
it hostage launching an hours-long standoff with police. Maksim
Krivosh (44), a Ukrainian born in Russia, seized the bus with 13
people. Krivosh released the hostages shortly after Pres. Zelenskiy
urged Ukrainians to watch “Earthlings,” a 2005 American documentary
exposing humanity’s cruel exploitation of animals.
   (AP, 7/21/20)(AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, The World Health
Organization said it is facing a “serious funding gap” to battle the
new outbreak of Ebola in remote corners of northern Equateur
province amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. Already there have been
20 confirmed deaths since the outbreak was declared on June 1.
   (AP, 7/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, President Donald
Trump announced he will send federal agents to Chicago and
Albuquerque, New Mexico, to help combat rising crime, expanding the
administration’s intervention into local enforcement as he runs for
reelection under a “law and order” mantle.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Joe Biden said
that President Donald Trump was the country's “first” racist
president. Biden also suggested that Trump is using race “as a
wedge” to distract from his mishandling of the pandemic.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, The United States
said that it has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston “to
protect American intellectual property" and the private information
of Americans.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, The US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was proposing the
first US emissions standards for commercial aircraft. The proposed
regulation seeks to align the United States with the 2016
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, It was reported
that the US and UK have agreed to end an "anomaly" that allowed Anne
Sacoolas, the wife of an American diplomat accused of running over
British teenager Harry Dunn last year, to claim diplomatic immunity.
   (ABC News, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, It was reported
that the United States Secret Service and United States Department
of State is offering up to $2 million for information leading to the
arrests or convictions of Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko,
both Ukrainian nationals. The two allegedly hacked into the SEC
system in 2016 that companies use to make their filings public known
as Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, or
EDGAR.
   (ABC News, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Kim Kardashian
said that her rapper husband Kanye West suffers from bipolar
disorder and asked for compassion and empathy as he and his family
try to manage his illness.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, California
reported more than 12,800 new infections, a one-day record.
California to date had 407,344 cases of coronavirus and 7,868
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 44,737 cases and 729 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 3,970,906 with the death toll at 143,190.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)(sfist.com, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Atlanta-based
online lender Kabbage Inc said that it will offer checking accounts
for small businesses, making it the latest financial technology
startup to expand its offering to a broader suite of banking
services.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In Minnesota
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced that Derek Chauvin
and his estranged wife, Kellie Chauvin, have been accused of
fraudulently filing tax returns from 2014 to 2019 and not filing
individual income tax returns on time from 2016 to 2019. On May 25,
Chauvin was filmed with his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine
minutes, as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe.
   (The Week, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In Oregon Ted
Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, was tear-gassed by US government
agents late today as he stood at a fence erected to protect a
federal courthouse during another night of protests against the
presence of the agents sent by Pres. Donald Trump to quell the
city's ongoing unrest.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, More than 35,000
cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Utah, and over 250
people have died. The number of infections is thought to be far
higher because many people have not been tested. Officials said the
Salt Lake City area is bucking a surge after the county issued a
mandate a month ago for people to wear masks.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Joan Feynman (93),
American astrophysicist, died in Ventura, Ca. She made important
contributions to the study of solar wind particles and fields;
sun-Earth relations; and magnetospheric physics.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Feynman)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.86)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In western
Afghanistan a government air strike killed at least 14 people in
Herat province, where hundreds of people had gathered to welcome
home a freed Taliban fighter. The government promised an
investigation.
   (SFC, 7/24/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Australia recorded
502 new cases of the coronavirus, including 484 in Victoria state,
where face were made compulsory as of July 23.
   (SFC, 7/23/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Bolivia has
reported nearly 2,300 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, although the
real number is believed to be higher. Police in the major cities
have recovered the bodies of hundreds of suspected victims of the
coronavirus from homes, vehicles and, in some instances, the
streets. The government says the peak of the outbreak is not
expected until August.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Britain’s
opposition Labour Party agreed to pay substantial damages to seven
whistleblowers who sued for defamation after they voiced concerns
last year of anti-Semitism within the party.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Ethiopia said the
first-year target for filling the controversial Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam (Gerd) on the River Nile has been reached. The
announcement came a day after Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan agreed to
resume talks over the dam, following a virtual summit.
   (BBC, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In Hungary
Szabolcs Dull, the editor of independent news site Index.hu, was
fired. last month Index moved its "independence barometer" to "in
danger" from "independent" after it was confronted by management to
reorganize its newsroom.
   (SFC, 7/23/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, India's Glenmark
Pharmaceuticals Ltd said its version of anti-flu drug favipiravir
showed promise in a late-stage study of 150 patients with mild to
moderate coronavirus infection.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, It was reported
that Japan's health ministry has approved dexamethasone, a cheap and
widely used steroid, as a second treatment of COVID-19 after a trial
in Britain showed the drug reduced death rates in hospitalized
patients.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Madagascar
reported a record 614 new coronavirus cases in the last day,
bringing the total to 8,162 and 69 deaths. President Andry Rajoelina
has been promoting a herbal drink to treat the virus.
   (BBC, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Scientists
reported on artifacts found in a mountain cave in the state of
Zacatecas in north-central Mexico. Limestone tools found at the site
spanned from 31,000 to 12,500 years old, said archaeologist Ciprian
Ardelean of Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas in Mexico, lead author
of one of two studies published in the journal Nature.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, It was reported
that violence against women has surged in Mexico since the start of
the coronavirus pandemic, but the country’s president has downplayed
the problem and slashed the budgets of agencies charged with
addressing women’s issues. Figures released this week show that
crimes such as femicides climbed 7.7% in the first half of 2020,
when compared with the same period last year.
   (The Guardian, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Long-haul carrier
Qatar Airways said it has launched international arbitration seeking
at least $5 billion from four boycotting Arab countries for blocking
its flights from their airspace and their markets.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Romania said its
number of coronavirus infections rose by a record 1,030 new cases in
a day. Romania has confirmed 40,163 cases since the pandemic reached
it in late February and 2,101 people have died.
   (Reuters, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Russian activist
and ethnographer Yuri Dmitriyev was sentenced to 3½ years in prison
on charges of sexually abusing his adopted daughter. Rights
activists called this a politically driven fabrication. Dmitriyev
had discovered a mass grave in the late 1990s full of skulls with
holes in them and worked relentlessly to research and document
Stalin-era purges in the Karelia region.
   (SFC, 7/23/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Sudan’s PM Abdalla
Hamdok announced the appointment of civilian governors for the
country’s 18 provinces, another key step forward in a fragile
transition to democracy over a year after the military ousted
long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Turkish and
Russian delegations met in Ankara to discuss the war in Libya and
agreed to press ahead with efforts for a lasting cease-fire in the
North African country.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, UN agencies warned
that food shortages will rise sharply in parts of war-torn Yemen in
the next six months, mainly because of the overall economic decline
and the pandemic that has ripped through the Arab world’s poorest
country.
   (AP, 7/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, President Donald
Trump scrapped plans for a four-night Republican National Convention
celebration in Florida that had been set to draw more than 10,000
people to a pandemic hot spot to mark his renomination.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, The Trump
administration said that it is revoking an Obama-era housing
regulation designed to eliminate racial disparities in the suburbs,
a move that fair housing advocates have decried as an election year
stunt designed to manipulate the fears of white voters.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, US and British
officials claimed that a July 15 test of an anti-satellite weapon
signaled a continuing Russian effort to develop technologies that
could threaten space assets of the United States and its allies.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez's outrage over a lawmaker’s verbal assault broadened
into an extraordinary moment on the House floor as she and other
Democrats assailed a sexist culture of “accepting violence and
violent language against women” whose adherents include President
Donald Trump. This came a day after she rejected an offer of
contrition from Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., for his language during this
week's Capitol steps confrontation.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, The US Department
of Justice announced that Alabama prisons have a pattern of using
excessive force against male inmates, as it again accused the state
of keeping prisoners in unconstitutional conditions.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A federal judge
ordered the release of Michael Cohen to home confinement, agreeing
with his lawyers that he was wrongly sent back to prison after
making public statements critical of President Donald Trump.
   (Today, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A US judge
authorized the release of new records from a 2015 civil lawsuit
against Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and longtime
Jeffrey Epstein associate who is facing criminal charges that she
lured girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, The US baseball
season officially began, four months late because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (Econ., 8/8/20, p.22)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, California to
date had 428,980 cases of coronavirus and 8,187 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 45,857 cases and 740 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,027,741 with the death toll at 144,072.
   (sfist.com, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Florida recorded
173 new coronavirus deaths, a daily high that pushed its toll from
the pandemic to more than 5,500. Deaths inside nursing homes have
also been on the rise, averaging about 40 per day in the last week
after those numbers had dropped in mid-June to lower than 20 deaths
per day.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Minnesota Gov. Tim
Walz signed a police accountability bill into law that included a
ban on neck restraints, choke holds and so-called warrior-style
training.
   (SFC, 7/24/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A federal judge
specifically blocked US agents from arresting or using physical
force against journalists and legal observers at protests in
Oregon's largest city where President Donald Trump is testing the
limits of federal power.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Texas set one-day
records for increases in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the
state, forcing one county to store bodies in refrigerated trucks and
prompting a top health official there to call for new stay-at-home
orders.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Australia rejected
Beijing's territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea in
a formal declaration to the United Nations, aligning itself more
closely with Washington in the escalating row.
   (AFP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Bahrain, with a
population of 1.6 million, has reported more than 37,000 cases of
the coronavirus and 130 deaths. The government put the asymptomatic
figure at 68%, mostly among healthy and young foreign laborers.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Britain and the EU
broke up their latest round of post-Brexit trade negotiations by
ruling out a quick deal but voicing hope for agreement in the coming
months.
   (AFP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, London-based Cell
and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult), a firm backed by the UK
government, said it has purchased a vaccine manufacturing facility
from healthcare company Benchmark Holdings for 16 million pounds
($20.36 million) in cash, as the country ramps up efforts to produce
potential coronavirus vaccines.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, China launched its
most ambitious Mars mission yet in a bold attempt to join the United
States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In northern Egypt
four members of a family drowned at al-Safa beach off the
Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, It was reported
that a hospital in the southern French city of Lyon is testing
patients with a new machine that enables them to breathe into a tube
to see whether they have COVID-19 in a matter of seconds.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Emmanuel Farhi
(b.1978), French economist and professor of economics at Harvard
University, died. His most cited work was on safe assets, written in
2008 with Ricardo Caballero of MIT.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Farhi)(Econ., 8/1/20, p.60)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A German court
found Bruno Day (93), a former Nazi SS camp guard, guilty of 5,232
counts of accessory to murder and one case of accessory to attempted
murder — equal to the number of people believed to have been killed
at Stutthof concentration camp during his service there. Dey was 17,
and later 18, at the time of his alleged crimes which were
consequently heard in juvenile court in Hamburg. He was given a
two-year juvenile sentence, which has been suspended.
   (NBC News, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In Germany 11 men
were convicted of rape at the end of a year-long trial over a gang
assault on an 18-year-old woman in October 2018. The case, in which
most of the defendants were Syrian, added to tensions in Germany
over migration.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Hong Kong reported
118 new coronavirus cases, a daily record, including 111 locally
transmitted cases, adding to a deluge of new infections that have
hit the global financial hub in the past two weeks. Total confirmed
cases now numbered 2,250, including 14 deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)(SFC, 7/24/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Indonesian
authorities in Bali arrested Marcus Beam, an American fugitive
accused of investment fraud. Police said Beam had been making and
selling sex videos in Bali to support his living expenses there.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y5woy5nm)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Baghdad
International Airport reopened for scheduled commercial flights
after months of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit
Iraq especially hard in recent weeks. The country has recorded
102,226 coronavirus infections and 4,122 deaths. Today's tally was
2,361 new cases.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Tokyo announced a
record 366 new daily coronavirus cases . Tokyo now has 10,420
confirmed cases including 327 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/24/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, It was reported
that five aid workers abducted last month in north-east Nigeria's
Borno State have been killed. Pres. Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko
Haram and vowed to bring the killers to justice.
   (BBC, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In northwester
Pakistan a bombing wounded at least 20 people in the town of
Parachinar, a majority Shiite town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
   (SFC, 7/24/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Qatar, with a
population of 2.8 million people, has reported more than 107,000
cases of the coronavirus and 163 deaths. Nearly 60% of those testing
positive, mostly among healthy and young foreign laborers, showed
little or no symptoms at all.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In Romania the
number of coronavirus infections rose by a record amount for a
second consecutive day. Romania announced 1,112 new cases, taking
confirmed cases to 41,275. Some 2,126 people have died.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, South Africa's
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a wide-ranging investigation
into claims that unscrupulous officials and private companies are
looting efforts to protect the country’s 57 million people. South
Africa now has more than 434,000 confirmed virus cases.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, South African
Medical Research Council (SAMRC) announced a record increase of 572
coronavirus deaths over the previous 24 hours. South Africa
witnessed some 17,000 extra deaths from natural causes or 59% more
than would normally be expected between early May and mid-July,
scientists said, suggesting many more people are dying of COVID-19
than shown in official figures.
   (AFP, 7/23/20)   (Reuters,
7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Regional
authorities across Spain introduced fresh coronavirus restrictions
aimed at stamping out a surge in infections that continues to defy
efforts at containment and is damaging tourism. Health ministry data
showed 2,615 new cases across the country, compared with a daily
average of just 132 in June.
   (Reuters, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A Sudanese
paramilitary group attacked civilians in the war-scarred region of
South Darfur, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 more.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, It was reported
that a mass grave has been discovered in Sudan containing 28 bodies,
thought to be the remains of army officers executed for carrying out
a coup attempt in 1990 against former President Omar al-Bashir.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Sudan’s protest
leaders announced that they oppose the government’s economic reform
plan to slash fuel subsidies and float the Sudanese currency,
raising the specter of unrest as the country makes a fragile
transition to democracy.
   (AP, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In Uganda, at
least 12 people have allegedly been killed by security officers
enforcing measures to restrict the spread of coronavirus, while the
country has only just confirmed its first death from Covid-19.
   (BBC, 7/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, US President
Donald Trump signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the
prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill
re-election battle and criticism over his handling of the
coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, President Donald
Trump said the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
fellow Republican James Inhofe, will not change the names of
military bases after Congress passed legislation to rename posts
that honor leaders of the Confederate armies who fought against US
forces.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, The Trump
administration said it will allow the sale of advanced armed
military drones bypassing part of an international weapons export
control agreement that the US helped forge more than three decades
ago.
   (SFC, 7/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, US prosecutors
unveiled charges against 18 Portland, Oregon protesters ranging from
assaulting police to arson and trespassing, a day after the Trump
administration expanded the deployment of tactical police to
Seattle. A US District judge denied the Oregon attorney general's
request for a temporary restraining order to rein in the activities
of federal agents responding to protests and unrest in Portland.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)(Politico, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, It was reported
that Goldman Sachs has reached a $3.9bn (£3bn) settlement with the
Malaysian government for its role in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB
corruption scheme.
   (BBC, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In California the
parents of Thaddeus Sran, a missing 2-year-old boy with special
needs, were arrested after police found the remains of a toddler on
farmland outside Madera. The child was reported missing by his
parents on July 15.
   (NBC News, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In California
Chinese researcher Juan Tang (37), accused of concealing her ties to
the Chinese military on a visa application she submitted so she
could work in the US, was booked into a Sacramento County jail and
was expected to appear in federal court July 26.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, California to
date had 434,016 cases of coronavirus and 8,232 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 47,077 cases and 758 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,103,371 with the death toll at 145,261.
   (sfist.com, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Ann Syrdal (74),
psychologist and computer science researcher, died at her home in
San Jose, Ca. She helped develop synthetic voices that sounded like
women and laid the groundwork for such modern digital assistants as
Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa.
   (NY Times, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Colorado teenager
Alec McKinney (17), who opened fire at a Denver-area high school on
May 7, 2019, in what has been described as an ambush attack, was
sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
   (NBC News, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Legendary
television host Regis Philbin (88) died in Connecticut. He became a
household name in the 1980s cohosting "Live! with Regis and Kathie
Lee" and later padded an impressive resume by hosting "Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire?" (1999-2002).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regis_Philbin)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Chicago two
statues of Christopher Columbus that stood in local parks were taken
down early today at the direction of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a week
after protesters trying to topple one of the monuments to the
Italian explorer clashed with police.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Louisiana New
Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell ordered bars closed and banned
restaurants from selling alcoholic drinks to take away. That came
after more than 2,000 new cases were reported for the surrounding
state of Louisiana, including 103 in New Orleans.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown's mandate for face-covering for anyone five years or older
went into effect. The state reported 9 deaths and 396 new
coronavirus cases bringing the case total to more than 16,100.
   (SSFC, 7/26/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Virginia removed
overnight the busts and a statue honoring Confederate generals and
officials from its iconic state capitol. These included a bronze
statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee positioned in the same spot where he
stood to assume command of the state's armed forces in the Civil War
nearly 160 years ago.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Australia,
Premier Daniel Andrews of the southern state of Victoria announced
five deaths and 357 new cases. Victoria, where the death toll has
risen to 61, earlier closed its border with neighboring New South
Wales.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Belarus opposition
candidate Valery Tsepkalo, who planned to challenge longtime
authoritarian Pres. Alexander Lukashenko in next month's
presidential election, said he has fled the country. Tsepkalo said
that he moved to Russia with his two children after unnamed sources
in the Belarus's Interior Ministry and the State Security Committee
(the KGB) warned him about a looming arrest and plans to strip him
of his parental rights and take his children away.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said the US FDA has approved its drug Breztri Aerosphere
to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, A panel of the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended approving
GlaxoSmithKline's experimental treatment for a common form of blood
cancer, days after a similar nod from a US Food and Drug
Administration panel.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, China ordered the
closing of the US Consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu, in
rapid retaliation for the closing of its consulate in Houston.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, It was reported
that animal tests of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by
Chinese researchers show it triggers an immune response against the
novel coronavirus, offering some promise as it goes into early-stage
human trials. ARCoV is a messenger RNA vaccine which uses technology
similar to candidates being developed by Moderna and BioNtech and
Pfizer.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, El Salvador
arrested its former defense minister David Munguia Paye for his
involvement in a government pact with the country's principle gangs
in 2012.
   (SFC, 7/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Europe's Airbus
said it would increase loan repayments to France and Spain in a
"final" bid to reverse US tariffs and jog the United States into
settling a 16-year-old dispute over billions of dollars of aircraft
subsidies.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, France's visiting
foreign minister pledged €15 million, about $17 million, in aid to
Lebanon's schools, struggling under the weight of the country's
economic crisis.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, The German cruise
ship “Mein Schiff 2” set sail in the North Sea for the first time
since the industry was shut down months ago, using strict
precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible. The
ship sailed off with 1,200 passengers on board compared to its
normal 2,900 capacity.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, German authorities
arrested a German woman (Nurten J.), who allegedly joined the
Islamic State group in Syria, upon her return to the country. She is
accused of membership in a foreign terrorist group, war crimes
against property and other crimes. The fate of her children was not
known.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Hungary more
than 80 Index staff members resigned from the the country's main
news site following the firing earlier this week of editor-in-chief
Szabolcs Dull.
   (SFC, 7/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, India-based Cipla
Ltd said it has received Indian regulatory approval to sell
anti-viral drug favipiravir to treat COVID-19. India reported over
49,310 fresh cases of the novel coronavirus with 740 new deaths,
marking the biggest daily surge in cases. Total cases now numbered
1,287,945, the 3rd highest in the world behind the US and Brazil.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)(SFC, 7/25/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Iraq Hella
Mewis, a German arts curator kidnapped in Baghdad on July 21, was
freed by Iraqi security forces.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Israeli police
used water cannons to disperse protesters in central Jerusalem and
arrested at least 55 of them as clashes broke out overnight after
thousands staged a protest against PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Immigration New
Zealand confirmed that Behrouz Boochani (37) had been given the
status, which allows him to legally stay in the country and gives
him a path to citizenship. The journalist had fled Iran and then
exposed Australia's degrading treatment of asylum-seekers while
being held against his will for six years.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Russia dismissed
US and British claims that it tested an anti-satellite weapon in
space and declared that the accusations served to justify
Washington's own plans to deploy weapons in orbit. Russia's Defense
Ministry previously stated that the July 15 event involved “a small
space vehicle” that “inspected one of the national satellites from a
close distance using special equipment”.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In Russia groups
of Azerbaijanis beat up Armenians in Moscow early today and later
assailed Armenian-owned stores. Azerbaijanis and Armenians have
engaged in a series of fights and violent rampages in Moscow,
venting their anger over recent cross-border clashes between the two
ex-Soviet nations.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, South African
police officers used water cannon to disperse protesters marching
outside Parliament over the plight of the hospitality industry
during the coronavirus pandemic. A day earlier confirmed cases in
South Africa of the coronavirus surpassed 400,000.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, In South Africa 68
inmates escaped from the Malmesbury Prison in the Western Cape.
After all escapees were rearrested following a 2-day manhunt.
   (BBC, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Spain has reported
over 900 new daily infections for the last two days as authorities
warn that the country that lost over 28,000 lives before getting its
outbreak under control could be facing the start of a second major
outbreak. Catalonia became the latest region to crack down on
nightlife, trying to tamp down on new infection clusters.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Swiss-based
Novartis's sickle cell disease treatment Adakveo appeared set for
European approval after a key committee gave its backing to the drug
that booked $36 million in first-half US sales.
   (Reuters, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Thailand officials
said prosecutors have dropped all charges against Vorayuth
Yoovidhya, a Thai heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune, who was
accused of killing a Bangkok police officer in a Sept. 3, 2012, car
crash. Prosecutors cited the fact the family members (of the police
officer) have been compensated” by Vorayuth's family.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, The UN weather
agency warned that average temperatures in Siberia were 10 degrees
Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) above average last month, a spate of
exceptional heat that has fanned devastating fires in the Arctic
Circle and contributed to a rapid depletion in ice sea off Russia's
Arctic coast.
   (AP, 7/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, It was reported
that nearly 100 workers at OBI Seafoods in Seward, Alaska, have
tested positive for the coronavirus. Three days earlier 85 crew
members of a factory fishing vessel docked in the Aleutian Islands
tested positive.
   (SFC, 7/25/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Protesters in
Oakland, California, set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police
station, broke windows, spray-painted graffiti, shot fireworks and
pointed lasers at officers after a peaceful demonstration turned to
unrest.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, California to
date had 441,602 cases of coronavirus and 8,345 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 47,685 cases and 760 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,154,361 with the death toll at 146,143.
   (sfist.com, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, The Florida
Department of Health reported an additional 12,199 cases in the last
24 hours, bringing the total number to 414,511. Florida has recorded
5,894 total deaths, with an increase of 126, and 23,730
hospitalizations, with an increase of 505.
   (Good Morning America, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Bread for the
World, a nonpartisan Christian organization that seeks to end hunger
said, it asked for and received the resignation of Florida Rep. Ted
Yoho from its board of directors following what it called his
“verbal attack” on New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Kentucky
hundreds of armed, predominantly Black, activists demanded justice
for Breonna Taylor during peaceful demonstrations in Louisville that
drew counter-protesters from a white militia group.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Tennessee actor
John Saxon (83), whose good looks won him not only legions of female
fans but also a wide array of roles, died at his home in
Murfreesboro. Saxon appeared in nearly 200 roles in the movies and
on television in a career that stretched over seven decades since he
made his big screen debut in 1954 in uncredited roles in “It Should
Happen to You” and George Cukor’s “A Star Is Born”.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Hurricane Hanna,
the first of the 2020 Atlantic cyclone season, made landfall twice
in Texas as a Category 1 storm within the span of little over an
hour. Forecasters the next day downgraded Hanna to a tropical storm.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Texas Garrett
Foster (28) was fatally shot late today at a Black Lives Matter
protest in Austin. Early reports suggested the victim was carrying a
rifle when he approached a vehicle and was shot by its driver. The
driver called 911 to report the incident and was later taken into
custody and released. Police didn’t immediately identify the driver.
   (Insider, 7/26/20)(AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Utah three
people including a 9-month-old were killed and multiple people
injured after a small airplane crashed in West Jordan, a Salt Lake
City suburb.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Washington DC
Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an executive order mandating that anyone
arriving after nonessential travel must self-quarantine for 14 days.
   (SSFC, 7/26/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Seattle, police
declared a riot this afternoon following large demonstrations and
deployed flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear crowds.
Authorities made more than 40 arrests said 21 officers suffered
mostly minor injuries.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Brazilian
President Jair Bolsonaro said that he had tested negative for the
new coronavirus, based on a fourth test since he said July 7 that he
had the virus.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, It was reported
that British rap artist Wiley (41) is facing a police investigation
after a string of anti-Semitic comments appeared on his social media
accounts, prompting his management to drop him. Wiley, whose real
name is Richard Cowie, released a number one single in Britain in
2012 and had several other top 10 hits. He received a UK government
honor for his contribution to music in 2018.
   (Reuters, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Peter Green (73),
British blues guitarist, died on Canvey Island, England. He helped
form Fleetwood Mac, which made its debut at the British Blues and
Jazz Festival in 1967.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Green_(musician))
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, France's interior
minister vowed to fight “hateful ideology” after far-right
extremists posted photos of a protest outside the offices of Sira
Sylla, a Black lawmaker.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, French health
authorities said the closely watched “R” gauge is now up to 1.3,
suggesting that infected people are contaminating 1.3 other people
on average.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, India recorded
nearly 49,000 new coronavirus cases, raising its total to more than
1.3 million. 757 deaths in the last 24 hours riased that total to
31,358.
   (SSFC, 7/26/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Jordanian
authorities raided the offices of the national teachers' union. It
was ordered to close for two years and its board members were
arrested. The board members were released after a month in
detention.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y4lnndqq)(Econ., 9/12/20,
p.40)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Kenya two
people were killed at Soko Ng'ombe market in eastern Garissa county,
during a protest against the arrest of a man suspected of murder.
Two police officers were soon arrested in connection with the
shooting. According to Amnesty International, Kenyan officers have
killed 21 people since March for failing to comply with coronavirus
prevention measures such as curfews and mask-wearing.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Azimzhan Askarov
(69), an ethnic Uzbek rights activist and human rights defender in
Kyrgyzstan, died in a prison clinic. He was serving a life term on
charges of involvement in ethnic violence that were widely
criticized as trumped-up. He had documented violence and looting
during the June 2010 violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and minority
Uzbeks in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad tat left 470
people killed.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, The Japanese ship
MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island
of Mauritius and its crew was evacuated. The large bulk carrier
later began leaking tons of fuel into the surrounding waters. The
ship was empty when it ran aground, but had some 4,000 tons of fuel
aboard. On August 7 PM Pravind Jugnauth declared a state of
emergency. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines later said the accident occurred
after the ship shifted its course two miles closer to shore than
planned so its crewmembers could get cellphone signals. In 2021
Captain Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar admitted to drinking moderately
during a birthday party onboard before the ship ran aground. He was
sentenced to 20 months in prison.
   (AP, 8/8/20)(AP, 12/18/20)(BBC, 12/21/21)(BBC,
12/27/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency politburo meeting to
implement a "maximum emergency system and issue a top-class alert"
to contain the coronavirus. North Korea blamed the case on a
defector returning from the south.
   (AFP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, It was reported
that after a brief lull due to the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea is
carrying out large-scale smuggling operations off the coast of China
in violation of UN sanctions, importing oil and selling coal and
sand to keep its economy afloat.
   (NBC News, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Russia tens of
thousands of people marched across the Far East city of Khabarovsk
on the border with China to protest the arrest of the regional
governor on murder charges, continuing a two-week wave of protests
that has challenged the Kremlin.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, South Korea
reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases for the first time in
four months. The 113 new cases included 36 workers returning from
Iraq and 32 crew members of a Russian freighter.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In Sudan
unidentified gunmen killed more than 60 people in the Darfur region,
and another 20 the day before. Several villages were burned, and
markets and shops looted.
   (BBC, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, It was reported
that The Church of Sweden has more female than male priests for the
first time, according to numbers released this month, a sign of huge
strides for gender equality since women were first allowed to be
ordained in 1960. The Lutheran institution was the official Swedish
state church until 2000. It now has some 5.8 million members,
representing some 57.7% of the country's population.
   (AP, 7/25/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, California to
date had 449,382 cases of coronavirus and 8,431 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 48,360 cases and 762 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,212,057 with the death toll at 146,732.
   (sfist.com, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Total COVID-19
cases in Florida rose by 9,300 to 423,855, just one place behind
California, which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York
is in third place with 415,827 cases.
   (Reuters, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, ProPublica posted
a database of York City police disciplinary records. The searchable
database contains 12,056 complaints against 3,996 active NYPD
officers. ProPublica said it isn't obligated to comply with Judge
Katherine Polk Failla's temporary restraining order because it is
not a party to a union lawsuit challenging the release of such
records.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Minnesota reported
its largest one-day rise in coronavirus cases with more than 860
cases.
   (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, In Oregon
authorities declared a riot early today in Portland, where
protesters breached a fence surrounding the city's federal
courthouse building where US agents have been stationed. Multiple
arrests were made, but it wasn't immediately clear how many.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Australia suffered
its deadliest day since the pandemic began, with 10 fatalities and a
rise in new infections despite an intense lockdown effort.
   (AFP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Britain's
government said passengers arriving from Spain will have to
self-isolate for two weeks, after a surge in cases in the
Mediterranean country, with health officials pointing to nightlife
as a possible culprit.
   (AFP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, The head of the
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said he has been
injected with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to
persuade the public to follow suit when one is approved.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Olivia de
Havilland (104), golden age Hollywood actress, died in Paris. She
won Oscars for "To Each His Own" (1946) and "The Heiress" (1950).
She was the sister of actress Joan De Haviland, aka Joan Fontaine,
who died in 2013. Olivia's other films included "Captain Blood"
(1935, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), "Gone With the Wind"
(1939) and "Lady In a Cage" (1964).
   (SFC, 7/27/20, p.A1)(Econ., 8/8/20, p.74)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Israeli police
said they arrested more than a dozen Israelis in country-wide
protests the previous night that drew thousands of people in a
growing and persistent show of force against PM Benjamin Netanyahu
and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, An Israeli
military drone crashed in southern Lebanon as regional tensions ran
high.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Malaysian
authorities searched for two dozen Rohingya refugees who were feared
drowned after jumping off their boat neat the resort island of
Langkawi. Only one of 25 refugees made it to shore.
   (SFC, 7/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, A light aircraft
carrying 500kg of cocaine, worth an estimated £45 million crashed in
Papua, New Guinea. The pilot, an Australian, soon surrendered to his
country’s consulate in Papua. Five other men, allegedly linked to a
Melbourne-based crime syndicate, were also later arrested.
   (The Telegraph, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Russian President
Vladimir Putin said the Russian navy will get 40 new ships and
vessels this year, as he attended a naval parade in St. Petersburg.
He also said the Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike
weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defence ministry
said were in their final phase of testing.
   (AP, 7/26/20)(Reuters, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Serbia's President
Aleksandar Vucic said “certain initiatives” have been made to buy a
fleet of fighter-bombers, accusing the US and other Western
countries of arming Serbia’s NATO neighbors and its breakaway former
province of Kosovo.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Serbian
authorities reported 467 new coronavirus cases over the last 24
hours. The country has confirmed 23, 730 cases and 534 deaths.
   (SFC, 7/27/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, In northern Syria
a bomb exploded this morning in a vegetable market in the Ras al-Ayn
border town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters. 8
people were killed and 19 wounded.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, A UN report,
released earlier this week, says more than 6,000 Pakistani
insurgents are hiding in Afghanistan, most belonging to the outlawed
Pakistani Taliban group responsible for attacking Pakistani military
and civilian targets.
   (AP, 7/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Pres. Donald Trump
the United States has awarded a $265 million contract to a Texas
facility of Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp to step up production of
a coronavirus vaccine candidate. Last week, Fujifilm Diosynth, a
drug ingredient subsidiary of the Japanese firm, said it would make
bulk drug substances for Novavax Inc.'s virus vaccine candidate,
NVX-CoV2373.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, The mayors of
Portland, Oregon, and five other major US cities appealed to
Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy
militarized agents to cities that don’t want their presence.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, It was reported
that Robert O'Brien, President Donald Trump's National Security
Adviser, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Governor Gavin
Newsom said nearly 200 federal healthcare workers have been deployed
to California's Central Valley agricultural breadbasket, where
hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases as new infection rates
soar.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, California to
date had 463,155 cases of coronavirus and 8,544 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 49,224 cases and 765 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,286,663 with the death toll at 147,588.
   (sfist.com, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, In Miami, Florida,
David T. Hines (29) was charged in federal court for fraudulently
obtaining $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans and then
using the money to buy himself a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan, among
other things.
   (Business Insider, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, In Portland,
Oregon, US agents declared an “unlawful assembly,” and just after 1
a.m., confronted protesters on the street and worked for hours to
clear the area. Several people were seen being detained, but it was
not immediately clear how many may were arrested.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Emergent
BioSolutions Inc said it signed a $174 million agreement with
AstraZeneca to develop and manufacture the British drugmaker's
COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Moderna Inc said
it had started a late-stage trial to test the effectiveness of its
COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the first such study under the Trump
administration's program to speed development of measures against
the novel coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Remington Arms Co
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in
two years as the US gunmaker faced financial troubles partly because
some retailers placed restrictions on gun sales after school
shootings.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Belgium's PM
Sophie Wilmes unveiled a set of drastic social distancing measures
aimed at avoiding a new general lockdown amid a surge of COVID-19
infections. From July 29 contacts outside family circles will be
limited to the same five people over the next four weeks. Confirmed
cases rose 71% from July 17-23 compared to the previous 7 days, with
47% of the cases detected in Antwerp province. Belgium has reported
more than 66,000 cases and 9,821 deaths.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, UK-based clinical
diagnostics company Novacyt announced more new products to test for
the presence of the coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said that Farxiga, which is used for the most common
form of diabetes, helped to improve renal function or reduced the
risk of death compared with a placebo in diabetic and non-diabetic
patients in a study.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, The Czech
government announced an overhaul of its much-criticized system of
tracking and isolating contacts of people with COVID-19 as it
battles a spike in new infections. The Czech Republic has reported
15,324 cases of the new coronavirus since March, with 371 deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Egyptian
authorities released Adel Sabri, editor of the Masr al-Arabia
independent news website, after more than two years in pre-trial
detention.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, India's chemicals
minister outlined plans to boost local manufacturing in the bulk
drugs and medical device industries to reduce India's reliance on
imports, particularly from China.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, In Indonesia two
women were publicly caned in Aceh province for offering prostitution
online, a violation of Shariah law.
   (SFC, 7/31/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Indonesia
announced that its confirmed cases of coronavirus have surpassed
100,000, the highest in Southeast Asia.
   (SFC, 7/28/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, It was reported
that 2 anti-government protesters were killed and 21 were injured in
Baghdad in new clashes between demonstrators and Iraqi security
forces. Iraq's Health Ministry has reported 110,032 cases, including
4,362 deaths.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Israeli forces
exchanged fire with Hezbollah militants along the volatile
Israeli-Lebanese frontier, as Israeli civilians living in the area
were ordered to remain indoors amid the heaviest fighting between
the bitter enemies in nearly a year.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Israeli settlers
tried to burn down a mosque overnight near the West Bank city of
Ramallah. Settlers attacked the mosque after midnight, spray
painting anti-Palestinian slogans in Hebrew and then hurling fire
bombs inside that burned part of the structure.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Zebra Medical
Vision, an Israeli medical imaging analytics company, said it has
received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for its
mammography technology.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Libyan authorities
shot dead three Sudanese migrants in a western coastal town who
tried to escape after they were intercepted by the coast guard in
the Mediterranean Sea and returned to shore.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Russia-based
Biotech group Biocad said it discussing producing in China a
potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Russia's Vector state
virology institute. The potential vaccine - based on the vesicular
stomatitis virus (VSV) - is expected to enter clinical trials in
mid-August.
   (Reuters, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, South Africa said
it had agreed to a $4.3 billion loan from the IMF for COVID-19
related help.
   (Econ., 8/1/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, It was reported
that flash floods have ravaged swaths of war-torn Yemen, leaving
dozens dead and destroying thousands of homes. A hotel marooned in
muddied water in the capital, Sanaa, collapsed late today, killing
four people and injuring three.
   (AP, 7/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, In Zimbabwe seven
babies were stillborn at Harare Central Hospital night after urgent
treatment was delayed because of staffing issues. Nurses are on
strike nationwide because of a lack of personal protective equipment
(PPE) and other concerns, and the maternity wards were overwhelmed.
   (BBC, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Pres. Donald Trump
issued a stout defense of hydroxychloroquine, a disproved use of a
malaria drug, as a treatment for the coronavirus, hours after social
media companies moved to take down videos promoting its use as
potentially harmful misinformation.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, The Trump
administration said that it will reject new applications and shorten
renewal periods for an Obama-era program that shields young people
from deportation, taking a defiant stance after the US Supreme Court
refused to let it be scrapped completely.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, US Attorney
General William Barr testified to Congress about the protests
following George Floyd's death and denounced violence that has
emerged across the country. Barr stressed that Operation Legend was
aimed at "predatory violence like murder and shootings" and was
distinct from the controversial deployment of unidentified federal
agents to counter protesters in Portland, Oregon. Barr also said he
doesn’t believe that systemic racism in policing exists in the
United States, despite being presented with data suggesting that it
does.
   (NBC News, 7/28/20)(Reuters, 7/29/20)(Yahoo News,
7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, The US federal
government announced that it would lend $765 million to the Eastman
Kodak Company, known for making cameras and film, to help it start
producing pharmaceutical ingredients.
   (The Week, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, The US-based
Recorded Future reported that the Vatican and the Catholic Diocese
of Hong Kong have been the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed
hackers ahead of September talks on renewal of a landmark 2018 deal
that helped thaw diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Arkansas reported
a new one-day high in deaths from the coronavirus. 20 more deaths
brought the state's total fatto 428.
   (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, California to
date had 468,425 cases of coronavirus and 8,627 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 50,144 cases and 775 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,342,498 with the death toll at 149,085.
   (sfist.com, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Diana E.H. Russell
(81), a leading feminist activist and scholar who popularized the
term “femicide” to refer to the misogynist killing of women, and to
distinguish these killings from other forms of homicide, died at a
medical facility in Oakland, Calif.
   (NY Times, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Florida reported
191 new fatalities due to the coronavirus. Cases in the state have
jumped by 9,230, bringing the total to over 441,900.
   (Good Morning America, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Louisiana's Xavier
Univ. announced that its has received a $20 million donation from
MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton
University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Tuskegee
University were all recipients of the generous donation. To date,
she has collectively donated a massive $1.7 billion.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A4)(Good Morning America,
7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Minneapolis police
say they've identified the man who helped spark weeks of violence
after the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Star Tribune
reports — and protesting racism and police brutality was not his
intent. Police said this man was a member of the Hell's Angels biker
gang intent on sparking this sort of violence.
   (The Week, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Seattle Mayor
Jenny Durkan announced that federal agents have left Seattle
following complaints from local officials that their presence was
increasing tensions with people protesting racial injustice.
   (The Week, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Television
journalist and founding president of Cable News Network (CNN), Reese
Schonfeld (88), died in Manhattan. He and media entrepreneur Ted
Turner started CNN in 1980.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Scientists
reported that they have succeeded in reviving microbes retrieved
from sediment deep under the seafloor in the heart of the South
Pacific that had survived in a dormant state for 101.5 million years
in research illustrating the resiliency of life on Earth.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Australia said it
was sending a medical team to help Papua New Guinea fight an
outbreak of coronavirus after the neighboring country experienced a
rise in infections. There were 62 confirmed virus cases as of late
today, up from just eight infections 11 days ago.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, It was reported
that the UK government has given the green light for the export of
British tear gas and rubber bullets to the US despite the continuing
use of force against protesters – and warnings from the United
Nations.
   (The Independent, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Canada granted
conditional approval to Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral treatment
remdesivir to treat patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19,
making it the first approved treatment for the fast-spreading
illness in the country. Canada has reported fewer than 9,000
coronavirus deaths among its 38 million people.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)(Econ., 8/1/20, p.25)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, China reported 57
new coronavirus cases in its northwestern Xinjiang region. China's
death toll remains at 4,634 among 83,959 cases.
   (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, An Egyptian court
sentenced several women to two years in prison for posting
"indecent" dance videos on TikTok.
   (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, In southern France
scientists and technicians began assembling huge parts of a nuclear
fusion device, an international experiment aimed to develop the
ultimate clean energy source. World leaders involved in the project
appeared virtually at a ceremony for the start of the new stage of
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Gisèle Halimi
(93), a prominent French lawyer, activist and author who championed
feminist causes and human rights efforts for decades, died. She
founded a feminist group with Simone de Beauvoir and played a key
role in the decriminalization of abortion in France.
   (NY Times, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, In Germany the
number of daily new coronavirus cases almost doubled to 633. The
Robert Koch Institute (RKI) linked the increase to increased social
contact at parties and in the workplace and urged people not to
flout social distancing rules.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Iran reported 235
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, a record toll for a single
day. This took the overall toll to 16,147.
   (AFP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Ireland's Central
Bank fined the country's largest lender, Bank of Ireland, 1.7
million euros for regulatory breaches that caused loss to a client
at its private banking arm and also for misleading the regulator.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, A court in
Malaysia convicted former prime minister Najib Razak of seven
charges of abuse of power, breach of trust and money laundering
related to the IMDB sovereign wealth scandal. Razak had co-founded
and chaired the fund from which $4.5 billion disappeared between
2009 and 2015.
   (Econ., 8/1/20, p.31)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, New Zealand said
that it will follow the lead of its intelligence allies by
suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, following China's
recent passing of a new security law for the semi-autonomous
territory.
   (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, North Korea
introduced tougher prevention measures against the novel
coronavirus, after it locked down the border town of Kaesong to
tackle what could be its first publicly confirmed case of the
respiratory disease.
   (Reuters, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Authorities in
Peru said more than 900 women and girls have gone missing and are
feared to be dead in Peru since the country’s coronavirus lockdown
started.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Russia reported
5,395 new COVID-19 cases and 150 coronavirus-related deaths in the
past 24 hours. Russia's total case count now stood at 823,515 with
13,504 coronavirus deaths.
   (Good Morning America, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Turkey said it
will suspend research for oil and gas exploration in disputed waters
in the Eastern Mediterranean that abruptly raised military tensions
with neighboring Greece.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, The UN human
rights office reported that scores of North Korean women who had
traveled abroad in a desperate search for work were abused by
security officials and police through beatings, detention in
unsanitary conditions, undernourishment and invasive body searches
after being sent back home. The women spoke to UN human rights
officials after eventually fleeing North Korea following their
detention.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, The UN said that
the unprecedented social and economic crisis caused by the
coronavirus pandemic will see nearly seven million more children
experience stunting as a result of malnutrition.
   (AFP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Vietnam locked
down the central city of Da Nang, its third-largest city, for two
weeks after 22 cases of COVID-19 were found linked to a hospital.
   (AP, 7/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, President Donald
Trump confirmed in an interview released today that he didn’t
discuss the intelligence about potential Russian bounties on US
troops in Afghanistan with Russian President Vladimir Putin when
they spoke by phone last week. Trump dismissed reports that Russia
has been paying the Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers in
Afghanistan and said he'd not raised the issue with President
Vladimir Putin.
   (NBC News, 7/29/20)(AFP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, US President
Donald Trump defended his push to use a coronavirus relief package
to fund a new FBI headquarters near his Washington hotel despite
opposition from fellow Republicans, citing his background as a real
estate developer.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Spurred on by
President Donald Trump's demand to pull troops out of Germany,
defense leaders said the US will bring about 6,400 forces home and
shift about 5,600 to other countries in Europe. The Pentagon plan
will cost billions of dollars and take years to complete. About
24,000 US troops will remain in Germany.
   (AP, 7/29/20)(SFC, 8/1/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The US Justice
Department said it would send dozens of law enforcement officers to
Cleveland, Milwaukee and Detroit to fight violent crime, expanding
the deployment of federal agents to major cities under a program
promoted by President Donald Trump.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The US Department
of Homeland Security and Oregon Governor Kate Brown said federal
troops will begin a phased withdrawal from downtown Portland, ceding
some security functions to Oregon state troopers and local law
enforcement after two months of protests.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The US State
Department imposed sanctions on President Bashar Assad's eldest son,
Hafez, keeping up pressure on the Syrian leader and his inner
circle. Separately, the US Treasury Department announced it had
imposed sanctions on prominent Syrian businessman Wassim al-Qattan
and nine entities for “enriching the Syrian regime through
construction of luxury real estate”.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Capitol officials issued broad new mask requirements
after a Republican member of Congress tested positive for the
coronavirus. The member, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (66), often
shunned wearing masks and was known to vote without one.
   (AP, 7/29/20)(SFC, 7/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, US Census Bureau
Director Steven Dillingham testified that he wasn’t informed ahead
of time about President Donald Trump's order seeking to exclude
people in the US illegally from the process of redrawing
congressional districts.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, New US rules went
into effect expanding requirements for US exporters to obtain
licenses for goods intended for military purposes, including for
weapon development, military aircraft or surveillance operations.
The rules banned exports to any entities in any relationship with
China's People's Liberation Army, labelling them as potential
military end users.
   (South China Morning Post, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The United States
has become the worst-affected country, with more than 4.3 million
diagnosed cases and over 150,000 deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, California to
date had 479,204 cases of coronavirus and 8,793 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 51,403 cases and 789 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,403,935 with the death toll at 150,159.
   (sfist.com, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Florida reported a
record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a second successive day,
with 217 fatalities in the last 24 hours. Florida also reported
9,446 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 451,000.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Louisiana reported
69 more coronavirus deaths for a statewide total of 3,769.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Boston Manuel
Henriquez (57), the ex-CEO of Palo Alto-based Hercules Capital, was
sentenced to six months in prison for paying about $450,000 in
bribes to boost his two daughters' entrance exam scores and get one
of them into Georgetown Univ. as a bogus tennis recruit. His wife
was already locked up a federal prison in Dublin, Ca.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Connie Culp (57),
the recipient of the first partial face transplant in the US, died
at the Cleveland Clinic, almost a dozen years after her
groundbreaking operation. She died of complications from an
infection unrelated to her transplant.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Virginia Karla
Elizabeth Dominguez Gonzalez in Alexandria was found shot to death.
In December, Gonzalez had testified that Ibrahim Bouaichi (33) was
violent and not consensual during an October incident inside her
apartment. Bouaichi went free on April 9 due to the risks of
COVID-19 and reportedly killed Gonzalez. On August 5 he was chased
down by the FBI and was found with an apparently self-inflicted
gunshot wound when the officers went to the vehicle. He was then
hospitalized and in grave condition.
   (Miami Herald, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Moderna Inc plans
to price its experimental coronavirus vaccine in a way that ensures
broad access, adding that it did not intend to conduct late-stage
trials of the vaccine outside the United States.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Australian
biotechnology company Vaxine Pty Ltd said it expects to start Phase
II trials of its potential COVID-19 vaccine in the next few weeks
after "positive" results from the first stage human study.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Belarusian
authorities detained dozens of Russian private military contractors
accused of planning to destabilize Belarus amid an election
campaign. 32 members of Russia's Wagner private military company
were detained overnight at a sanitarium outside Minsk by a SWAT team
from the Belarusian State Security Committee.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Britain said it
has signed a deal for up to 60 million doses of a potential
coronavirus vaccine being developed by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline
(GSK), its latest such arrangement as the race to tame the pandemic
heats up.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Bulgaria tens
of thousands of people took to the streets across the country for a
third consecutive week to demand the resignation of the government
of PM Boyko Borissov and chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev. Pres. Rumen
Radev backed the protesters.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Amnesty Int'l.
said Egypt has executed seven people convicted of killing a police
officer in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, after a trial that was
“marred by serious allegations of torture.” The defendants were
accused of killing the officer and the attempted killing of another
person during a fight in November 2013.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The European
Union's executive said it had agreed to buy a limited supply of the
COVID-19 medicine remdesivir from US drugmaker Gilead to address the
short-term needs of European patients, and hoped to be able to order
more later.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The European Union
said it has made available up to 45 million euros ($53 million) to
increase the collection of plasma from COVID-19 survivors for the
treatment of people who contract the disease.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Berlin's Tegel
airport began large scale coronavirus testing, as airports across
Germany prepared for the advent of free, compulsory testing for many
passengers from next week.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Guatemala's
government has reported more than 47,000 confirmed infections and
more 1,800 deaths nationwide. Local hospitals say they have had to
bury dozens of COVID-19 victims who have never been identified, and
one hospital is creating archives in hopes that once the pandemic
passes, their relatives will come looking for them.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Hong Kong detained
four students, ages 16 to 21, for "inciting secession" on social
media. They included Tony Chung, former leader of Studentlocalism, a
protest group that had called for Hong Kong's independence from
China.
   (Econ., 8/1/20, p.33)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Hong Kong reported
118 new coronavirus cases, including 113 that were locally
transmitted, as strict new measures including a restriction of
gatherings to two people and a ban on restaurant dining, took
effect.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Italian lawmakers
approved the extension of a state of emergency for the coronavirus
through October 15. Italy counted 289 new cases and six more deaths
bringing its pandemic total to 246,776 and the death toll to 35,129.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The CoVIg-19
Plasma Alliance led by Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said it
has completed test supplies of a blood plasma treatment for
COVID-19, but pending regulator approval will likely prevent
clinical trials from meeting a July start date.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Jordanian
anti-riot police clashed with protesting teachers in the capital
Amman, with several demonstrators being beaten with clubs and
arrested.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The International
Rescue Committee urged Libyan authorities to release over 200
Europe-bound migrant children intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea
and returned to detention centers in the conflict-stricken country
this year.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Pakistan Tahir
Ahmad Nasim (47), facing charges of blasphemy, was shot dead in
court as he awaited the start of his hearing. His attacker (24) was
arrested. Nasim was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community that
many mainstream Islamic schools consider to hold blasphemous
beliefs.
   (The Telegraph, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The Philippines
said it had slaughtered nearly 39,000 chickens in a poultry farm
north of the capital Manila to curb a bird flu outbreak, more than
four months after detecting H5N6 infections in a nearby province.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, A top Russian
official has said the country's coronavirus vaccine is nearing the
end of clinical trials and is likely to get approval in mid-August –
potentially making it the world's first approved vaccine against the
disease.
   (The Telegraph, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Turkey's
parliament adopted a law designed to force social-media giants to
comply with Turkish requests to remove content.
   (Econ., 8/8/20, p.40)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, A Singapore court
fined the nephew of PM Lee Hsien Loong for criticizing the judiciary
in a Facebook post two years ago amid a deepening family feud.
   (SFC, 7/31/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, South Korea's
Green Cross Corp said it has sought regulatory approval for Phase II
trials of an experimental COVID-19 blood plasma treatment drug.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Spain reported
1,153 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily number in almost
three months. Spain has officially recorded 282,641 cases and 28,441
deaths.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Swiss-based Roche
said its attempt to retool its rheumatoid arthritis drug
Actemra/RoActemra to treat patients hospitalized with severe
COVID-19-related pneumonia has failed in a late-stage trial.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Thailand's PM
Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a public probe into the dropping of
criminal charges against Vorayuth Yoovidhya, a Thai heir to the Red
Bull energy drink fortune.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The UN Office on
Drugs and Crime said coca cultivation jumped 10% in Bolivia in 2019,
the final year of President Evo Morales' government, partly because
of reduced eradication efforts amid rising social and political
conflicts.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, The UN said more
than 100 civilians including women and children were killed by
ground fighting, explosive remnants and airstrikes in Libya between
April and June, an increase of 65% from the first three months of
the year.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Venezuela the
new Iranian Megasis supermarket, in the east of Caracas, was
launched amid a tightening of the coronavirus quarantine. The
inauguration was attended only by Venezuelan government officials,
Iranian diplomatic personnel and businessmen.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Vietnam confirmed
four new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases
in the country to 450, with no deaths.
   (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Yemeni separatists
said they would give up their dreams of self-administration over
southern Yemen to pursue a Riyadh agreement. Saudi Arabia declared
early today that it had proposed a plan to “accelerate”
implementation of a deal which calls for the creation of a new
government within 30 days and the appointment of a new governor and
security director for Aden.
   (AP, 7/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, NASA’s
Perseverance Mars rover rode an Atlas V rocket as part of an
ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock
samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.
The rover will descend to the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Arizona reported a
record increase with 172 COVID-19 fatalities, bringing that state's
death toll to 3,626.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, It was reported
that California has conditionally approved the $40 million sale of
Seton Medical Center in Daly City and its Moss Beach facility to
AHMC Healthcare, a for profit company based in southern California,
from Verity Health, a nonprofit that filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
   (SFC, 7/30/20, p.C2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In southern
California 15 Marines and one Navy sailor were aboard an assault
amphibious vehicle that began taking on water. One Marine died, two
others were injured and 8 were reported missing. Search efforts were
called off on July 23. On August 7 it was reported that the bodies
of the 8 missing were recovered following salvage operations.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)(SFC, 8/3/20, p.A4)(SSFC,
8/9/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In southern
California a federal grand jury returned a 34-count indictment
against Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar (61), alleging he
accepted bribes, concealed income, evaded taxes and lied to
investigators.
   (NBC News, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, The police chief
of Vallejo, California, said he is opening an inquiry into
allegations that officers bent their badges to mark on-duty
killings.
   (The Guardian, 7/30/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, California to
date had 488,857 cases of coronavirus and 8,965 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 52,267 cases and 803 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,487,072 with the death toll at 151,826.
   (sfist.com, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Florida reported a
record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a third day in a row,
with 252 fatalities in the last 24 hours. Florida, California, and
Texas, the three most populous US states, all set one-day records
for fatalities.
   (AP, 7/30/20)(Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Ohio House Speaker
Larry Householder (61) was ousted from his role as speaker in a
unanimous and bipartisan vote, following his arrest in what
prosecutors called the “largest bribery scheme" in state history.
Also arrested and charged were the speaker's adviser Jeffrey
Longstreth (44); former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matthew
Borges (48); and prominent lobbyists Neil Clark (67), and Juan
Cespedes (40).
   (NBC News, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Herman Cain (74),
a television host and former US Republican presidential candidate,
died in Georgia after contracting COVID-19.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Michigan a man
who swung a long sword and threw a dagger at Detroit police officers
was killed in a clash with cops.
   (Miami Herald, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, St. Louis County’s
prosecutor announced that he will not charge the former police
officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson,
Missouri.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Oregon the
first nightly protest in downtown Portland after a deal was struck
for the withdrawal of federal agents guarding a courthouse was
largely peaceful and ended early the next day without any major
confrontations between state police and demonstrators.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Wisconsin Gov.
Tony Evers issued a statewide mask mandate amid a spike in
coronavirus cases, setting up a conflict with Republican legislative
leaders and some conservatives who oppose such a requirement and
successfully sued to kill the governor's "safer at home” order.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Inovio
Pharmaceuticals Inc said its COVID-19 vaccine candidate was
effective in protecting rhesus macaques from the virus 13 weeks
after the last vaccination.
   (Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Johnson &
Johnson, the third Western biopharmaceutical company to begin a new
trial of its Covid-19 vaccine this week, said it would test its
vaccine in a single-dose format. A new study showed that the vaccine
protected monkeys from infection.
   (Dow Jones, 7/30/20)(SFC, 7/31/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Afghanistan a
suicide bombing in eastern Logar province late today killed at least
nine people and wounded 40. The Taliban denied involvement.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Much of Canada's
remaining intact ice shelf began broking apart into hulking iceberg
islands thanks to a hot summer and global warming. The
4,000-year-old Milne Ice Shelf on the northwestern edge of Ellesmere
Island had been the country's last intact ice shelf until the end of
this month.
   (AP, 8/7/20)(Econ., 8/15/20, p.32)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, China's health
authority said it has asked local authorities to carry out regular
coronavirus tests at wholesale markets, part of an all-out effort to
control the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
   (Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, The Czech Republic
reported that cases of the new coronavirus have surpassed 16,000 as
a recent spike in infections continues. The health ministry recorded
278 cases nationwide a day earlier, the second highest daily rise in
July.
   (Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, It was reported
that Egypt’s president has approved new legal amendments that
further exclude any serious competitors from elections and give the
military greater control over civilian affairs. The amendments were
published earlier this week in the country’s official gazette.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, The European Union
prolonged sanctions against dozens of North Korean officials and
agencies for a year over Pyongyang’s continued efforts to develop
nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, The European Union
slapped sanctions on six people and three organizations, including
Russia’s military intelligence agency, accusing them of
responsibility for several cyber-attacks that threatened EU
interests. The EU imposed travel and financial sanctions on a
department of Russia’s military intelligence service and on firms
from North Korea and China over their suspected participation in
major cyberattacks across the world.
   (AP, 7/30/20)(The Telegraph, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Hong Kong's
government disqualified 12 opposition pro-democracy figures from
running in elections. The decision was internationally condemned.
   (South China Morning Post, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Hong Kong reported
149 new coronavirus cases, a daily record, including 145 that were
locally transmitted, with authorities warning the global financial
hub faces a critical period as it tries to contain the outbreak.
   (Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, The Philippines
reported nearly 4,000 new coronavirus cases, a record daily jump in
infections for the fourth time this month, just as President Rodrigo
Duterte prepared to announce a major shift in his government's
COVID-19 response.
   (Reuters, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Tropical Storm
Isaias battered Puerto Rico as it continued on a forecast track
toward the US East Coast, unleashing small landslides and causing
widespread flooding and power outages on an island still recovering
from previous hurricanes and earthquakes.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, A Moscow court
sentenced former US Marine Trevor Reed to nine years in prison for
assaulting and endangering the lives of two police officers in 2019.
   (SFC, 7/31/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Saudi Arabia
masked pilgrims arrived at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islam’s
holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the
hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca. The number of hajj pilgrims
this year was limited to anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000. All of this
year's pilgrims are either residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, South Africa's
health ministry said there were 11,046 new cases of COVID-19
reported across the country. That brings the national total to
482,169, including 7,812 deaths.
   (Good Morning America, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, A Spanish court
found American Victor Stemberger (77) guilty of drug smuggling and
sentenced him to seven years in prison, rejecting his defense that
he was duped.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In northeastern
Syria a car bomb exploded at checkpoint manned by Turkey-backed
Syrian opposition fighters, killing and wounding several people.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Former Taiwan
Pres. Lee Teng-hui (97) died in Taipei. He took over as president in
1988 following the death of Chiang Ching-kuo and continued as
Taiwan's first native president until 2000.
   (SFC, 8/1/20, p.B3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Veteran US
diplomat Bill Richardson said two of the six former Citgo Petroleum
Corp executives detained in Venezuela were moved to house arrest.
Gustavo Cardenas and Jorge Toledo were among six executives arrested
in 2017 on charges of embezzlement that the US government and their
lawyers say are baseless.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Yemen's Huthi
rebels freed six members of the Baha'i faith whose years of
imprisonment had raised international concern.
   (AP, 7/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, President Donald
Trump told reporters that he plans to ban the TikTok app in the US
through executive authority before heading to Florida. TikTok has an
estimated 65 million to 80 million users in the United States. It
was said that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok.
   (Good Morning America, 7/31/20)(SFC, 8/1/20,
p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The US Supreme
Court declined by a 5-4 vote to halt the Trump administration's
construction of portions of the border wall with Mexico following a
recent lower court ruling that the administration improperly
diverted money to the project.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The United States
sold the ambassador’s residence in Tel Aviv, Israel, for more than
$67 million to US casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The sale helped to
cement Pres. Trump's controversial decision to relocate the US
Embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem in 2018 and to
recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
   (AP, 12/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, A US federal
appeals court ruled vacated the death penalty of Boston Marathon
bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but said he will remain in prison for the
rest of his life. However, the court ordered a retrial over the
sentence for Tsarnaev's crimes, where a new set of jurors can again
decide if he should be sentenced to death.
   (Business Insider, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The US FDA said a
salmonella outbreak has infected nearly 400 people in more than 30
states and was likely linked to red onions coming from Thomson
International Inc. of Bakersfield, Ca. The company said it was
recalling all varieties of onions that could have come in contact
with the contaminated red onions.
   (SSFC, 8/2/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In Alaska 7
people, including state lawmaker Rep. Gary Knopp (67), died when two
small airplanes collided in midair near the airport in Soldotna, a
small community on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, California to
date had 500,293 cases of coronavirus and 9,169 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 53,205 cases and 811 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 4,556,232 with the death toll at 153,268.
   (sfist.com, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Officials in
southern California said at least 45 fraternity members at the
University of Southern California have tested positive for COVID-19.
   (Good Morning America, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In Florida Graham
Clark (17) of Tampa was arrested "for being the mastermind behind" a
July 15 Twitter hack that saw high-profile accounts, including those
belonging to former President Obama and former Vice President Joe
Biden, taken over to promote a Bitcoin scam, which involved asking
followers to send money to a Bitcoin address while claiming double
that amount would be returned. The DoJ announced charges against two
alleged co-conspirators, Mason Sheppard (19) and Nima Fazeli (22),
of Orlando, Florida, who goes by the hacker name “Rolex”. Sheppard,
from Bognor Regis (UK), faces three charges in connection with the
apparent cyber scam targeting around 130 accounts on the social
media site. A Massachusetts teenager (16) was also soon linked to
the Twitter hack.
   (The Week, 7/31/20)(The Independent, 8/1/20)(SFC,
9/3/20, p.C2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Florida reported a
record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a fourth day in a row,
with 257 fatalities in the last 24 hours. Florida also reported
9,007 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 470,000.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, West Virginia
confirmed 182 coronavirus cases, its highest daily count since the
outbreak began.
   (SFC, 8/1/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Twitter Inc said
it has permanently suspended the account of David Duke, a former
leader of the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan, as the social
media company tries to curb the spread of hateful content on its
website.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Pharma giants
GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur announced they will supply 100
million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United
States as governments buy up supplies in hopes something will work.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Pfizer Inc and
BioNTech SE said they have agreed to supply Japan with 120 million
doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccine in the first half of
2021.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson put some planned measures to ease the UK's lockdown on hold,
just hours before they were due to take effect, saying the number of
new coronavirus cases in the country is on the rise for the first
time since May.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, British PM Boris
Johnson named 36 new members to Parliament’s unelected House of
Lords, including his brother, a slew of prominent Brexit supporters
and a Russia-born newspaper owner whose father was a KGB agent.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, British film
director Sir Alan Parker (b.1944) died in London following a long
illness. His films included "Fame" (1980), Mississippi Burning"
(1988), "The Commitments" (1991), and "Angela's Ashes" (1999).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Parker)(SFC,
8/1/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, A court in the
West African nation of Cape Verde approved the extradition to the
United States of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman wanted on
suspicion of money laundering on behalf of Venezuela's socialist
government. His legal team planned to appeal.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, China's
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) said it would
establish a joint venture company to develop wafer production units
in Beijing to bump up its semiconductor output and reduce costs.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, It was reported
that Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng Motors has raised an
additional $300 million from investors including Qatar's sovereign
wealth fund.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In Cuba Eusebio
Leal (77), the historian of Havana and longtime leader of the city's
renewal, died.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebio_Leal)(SSFC, 8/2/20, p.C11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The European
Center for Disease Prevention and Control said Luxembourg had 240.6
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the last 14 days, much
higher than any other country in the European Economic Area.
Luxembourg said its large number of COVID-19 cases reflects its
unrivalled level of testing.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Hong Kong leader
Carrie Lam announced that the government will postpone highly
anticipated legislative elections by one year, citing a worsening
coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Ahead of
the announcement a group of 22 lawmakers issued a statement accusing
the government of using the outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Indian police said
that at least 21 people have died in Punjab state over the last
three days after drinking tainted alcohol. The death toll was later
raised to at least 69. Local media put the number at 86. Police soon
arrested more than two dozen people on suspicion of selling tainted
alcohol.
   (SFC, 8/1/20, p.A2)(SFC, 8/3/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In India monsoon
floods have swamped large parts of densely populated Bihar state and
displaced more than 300,000 people, exacerbating the risk of the
coronavirus and stymieing the state's response to the pandemic. The
floods have killed at least 24 people in the state. Bihar has so far
recorded 48,197 coronavirus cases including 282 deaths.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, India recorded
55,079 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours taking its total
to 1,638,871. The death toll rose by 779 taking that total to
35,747.
   (SFC, 8/1/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, It was reported
that after a decade of campaigning, Kenyan environmental activist
Phyllis Omido has won a court ruling that awarded $12m (£9.2m) to
the Owino Uhuru community poisoned by lead pollution from a nearby
factory.
   (BBC, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, A military court
in eastern Libya sentenced local photojournalist Ismail Bouzreeba
al-Zway (39) to 15 years in prison on vague terrorism-related
charges, prompting an outcry from human rights groups. He was first
scooped up by security agents while covering a local news event in
his hometown of Ajdabiya, east Libya, in 2018.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, It was reported
that demonstrators in northern Mexico have burned several government
vehicles, blocked railway tracks and set afire a government office
and highway toll booths to protest water payments to the US under a
1944 treaty. Farmers in Chihuahua want the water for their own
crops.
   (SFC, 7/31/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Mexican health
officials reported 688 new deaths, pushing the country’s confirmed
total to over 46,600. Mexico now has the third most COVID-19 deaths
in the world, behind Brazil and the United States.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Northern Ireland
launched the United Kingdom's first COVID-19 tracing app, and the
first one that can also trace users in another country, Ireland, who
have been in contact with someone suffering from the disease.
NearForm launched a similar app in Ireland on July 8, and cases can
now be traced across the island's open border by two separate health
services.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The University
Hospital of North Norway said three members of the crew of Norwegian
cruise vessel Roald Amundsen have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The
vessel had close to 200 passengers on board when it arrived at the
Arctic port of Tromsoe.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Romania said its
number of coronavirus infections rose by 1,295 new cases on the day
taking the cumulative total to 50,886 cases. 2,343 people have died.
The country is under a state of alert that is due to end in two
weeks.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In Saudi Arabia
small groups of pilgrims, masked and physically distancing, made
their way toward the massive multi-story Jamarat Complex in the
Saudi valley area of Mina. There, the pilgrims cast pebbles at three
large columns. It is here where Muslims believe the devil tried to
talk the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, out of submitting to God’s
will. Muslims worldwide marked the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Slovakia reported
its first coronavirus death since the middle of May, bringing its
toll to 29, one of the lowest in Europe. A day earlier the country
detected 27 new cases. 2,292 cases have been found since March.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, In northern Sudan
a speeding truck trying to overtake a car crashed into a passenger
bus on a highway, killing 13 people and injuring 15.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, The Barakah
nuclear power plant in the UAE's far western desert near the border
with Saudi Arabia reached what scientists called its “first
criticality.” That's when the nuclear chain reaction within the
reactor is self-sustaining. This is the first nuclear power plant on
the Arabian Peninsula.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Vietnam reported
its first-ever death of a person with the coronavirus as it
struggles with a renewed outbreak after 99 days with no local cases.
Vietnam reported 37 more novel coronavirus infections, bringing the
total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 546. More
than 100 new cases have been confirmed in the past week, more than
half of them patients at a hospital in Da Nang.
   (AP, 7/31/20)(Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, predicted
the effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt for decades to
come.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Award-winning
Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga (61), a nominee for this year's
Booker Prize, was among scores arrested in Harare during an
anti-government protest. The government had warned that
participation in today's demonstration would be regarded as
insurrection.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, US federal officials
found an incomplete tunnel intended for smuggling that ran from San
Luis, Arizona, to a Mexican neighborhood. It had a ventilation
system, water lines, electrical wiring, a rail system and extensive
reinforcement. Authorities later said it was the most sophisticated
tunnel in US history.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Unemployment in
Barbados was estimated at close to 40% as COVID-19 kept tourists
from visiting.
   (Econ., 7/25/20, p.23)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Cuba's government
announced that it would allow private restaurants to buy wholesale
for the first time. Ministers also announced that private
businesspeople could sign contracts to import and export goods
through dozens of state-run companies with import/export licenses.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, In Ethiopia at least
three broadcasters linked to the opposition, only one of which had
aired calls for violence, were closed this month.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.46)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, The French firm oil
firm Total secured $15 billion in loans for its liquified natural
gas operations in Mozambique. This was the biggest project finance
deal in African history.
   (Econ., 8/29/20, p.33)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, In Iran a provincial
court in Shiraz sentenced wrestler Navid Afkari (27) to death for
the 2018 death of Hassan Torkaman, a water supply company employee
in the southern city of Shiraz, following an anti-government protest
over economic problems. His brothers Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari
were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison, respectively. All three
were construction workers. A video, later circulated on social
media, claimed the three men confessed to the killing under torture.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Tunisia ended its ban
on foreign names.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.47)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, California to date
had 503,191 cases of coronavirus and 9,268 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 54,311 cases and 831 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
4,603,204 with the death toll at 153,986.
   (sfist.com, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Florida reported
179 coronavirus deaths, raising that total to more than 7,000.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, More than a
thousand people showed up in downtown Portland early today to
peacefully protest, about three days after the announcement that the
presence of US agents there would be reduced. The Portland Police
Bureau declared an unlawful assembly late today when people gathered
outside a police precinct in Oregon's largest city and threw bottles
towards officers.
   (AP, 8/1/20)(AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Hurricane Isaias
snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas
and headed toward the Florida coast.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, American actor and
singer Wilford Brimley (85) died in Utah. He is best known for his
roles in the Oscar-winning movie "Cocoon" (1985) and "The Firm"
(1993).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilford_Brimley)(AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, NASA’s Doug Hurley
and Bob Behnken bid farewell to the three men left behind as their
SpaceX Dragon capsule undocked and headed toward a Sunday afternoon
descent by parachute into the Gulf of Mexico.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Facebook announced
that it has obeyed a Brazilian judge's order for a worldwide block
on the accounts of 12 of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters who
are under investigation for allegedly running a fake news network.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, London police
arrested a Conservative Party lawmaker after a former parliamentary
aide accused him of rape and sexual assault while they were in a
relationship. The man was not named and was soon released on bail.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Cambodian
authorities arrested Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian
Confederation of Unions, for incitement to commit felony. The
longtime government critic had complained about farmers' land being
infringed upon by neighboring Vietnam.
   (SSFC, 8/2/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, France began
testing travelers from 16 countries where the coronavirus is
circulating widely. They must now undergo virus tests upon arrival
at French airports and ports unless they present proof of a negative
test done within 72 hours of their departure. Those who test
positive must quarantine for 14 days.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In Germany an
estimated 17 thousand protested coronavirus restrictions in a Berlin
demonstration that insisted “the end of the pandemic” has arrived —
a declaration that comes just as authorities are voicing increasing
concerns about an uptick in new infections. The country’s death toll
was just over 9,150 people out of more than 210,670 confirmed virus
cases.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Police in Erfurt
said three Guineans were assaulted by a group of 10 to 12 Germans
shortly after 3 a.m. near a meeting point for the far-right scene in
a housing estate. Twelve suspected perpetrators were detained.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, India recorded its
steepest spike of 57,118 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking its
coronavirus caseload close to 1.7 million.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In India a huge
crane collapsed during load testing at the Hindustan Shipyard in
Andhra Pradesh state, killing at least 11 workers.
   (SSFC, 8/2/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Iran said it has
detained Jamshid Sharmahd, the leader of Kingdom Assembly of Iran, a
little-known California-based opposition group, for allegedly
planning a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people and wounded
over 200 others. Sharmahd had been in Dubai, trying to travel to
India for a business deal involving his software company.
   (AP, 8/1/20)(AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, According to the
World Health Organization (WHO) the Nigerian city of Onitsha is the
most polluted in the world.
   (Econ., 8/1/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, It was reported
that Peruvian authorities are investigating whether the country
failed to count 27,253 deaths caused by the coronavirus. Peru had
only listed 19,021 victims because international standards required
both a death certificate listing coronavirus and a positive test for
the disease to be included in official statistics.
   (SFC, 8/1/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In Russia thousands
of demonstrators rallied in the Far East city of Khabarovsk to
protest the arrest of their governor, keeping up a three-week wave
of opposition that has challenged the Kremlin. Smaller
demonstrations took place in at least 10 other cities and 55 people
were detained in those protests.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, South Africa
announced 10,107 new cases, bringing the tally to 503,290, along
with 8,153 deaths.
   (BBC, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In South Korea
prosecutors arrested Lee Man-hee (89), the leader of the Shincheonji
Church of Jesus, a secretive religious sect linked to more than
5,200 of the country's approximately 14,300 confirmed cases. He has
denied charges of hiding members and underreporting gatherings to
avoid broader quarantines. Mr Lee is also suspected of embezzling
about 5.6 billion won (£3.6 million) in church funds, including
about five billion won that he allegedly used to build a retreat.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In Vietnam a third
person died of coronavirus complications in Da Nang. Twelve
additional cases were confirmed, all linked to Da Nang.
   (AP, 8/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, NASA astronauts
Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode the SpaceX Dragon capsule, dubbed
Endeavour back to Earth and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
   (SFC, 8/3/20, p.A7)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, California to date
had 509,396 cases of coronavirus and 9,369 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 55,097 cases and 836 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
4,649,669 with the death toll at 154,744.
   (sfist.com, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Chicago Darrell
Johnson (39) was arrested for the death of a 9-year-old boy who was
fatally shot while playing in front of his home. The boy was one of
105 homicide victims in July. Johnson was soon charged with
first-degree murder.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Nevada lawmakers
passed a bill allowing the state to mail active voters ballots ahead
of the November election, joining seven states that plan automatic
mail balloting. Gov. Steve Sisolak was expected to sign the bill.
Pres. Trump the next morning called the bill "an illegal late night
coup."
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, South Dakota health
officials reported 88 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus and
one new death. The state death toll is now 135 with total cases at
8,955.
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, American classical
pianist Leon Fleisher (92) died in Maryland. In 1964, he lost the
use of his right hand due to a neurological condition eventually
diagnosed as focal dystonia, forcing him to focus on the repertoire
for the left hand.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Fleisher)(Econ., 8/15/20, p.78)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Australia,
Premier Daniel Andrews of the southern state of Victoria announced a
8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew on Melbourne, a city of 5 million people.
Schools statewide are to return to home-based teaching and day care
centers were closed. Andrews said there were seven deaths and 671
new cases over the last 24 hours.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, China reported 49
new confirmed cases, up from the previous day’s 45.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Ethiopia tens of
thousands flooded the streets of Addis Ababa in a government-backed
rally to celebrate the first stage of the filling of the $4.6
billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Guyana's Elections
Commission declared that Irfaan Ali, an opposition candidate, was
the winner of the March 2 elections.
   (Econ., 8/8/20, p.27)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Hong Kong reported
125 new infections as authorities tried to find the source of its
latest outbreak.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, India reported
54,735 new coronavirus cases, down from the previous day's record
57,118. The country's total rose to 1.75 million.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Iran imposed
symbolic sanctions on Richard Goldberg, a hawkish former expert with
the White House National Security Council, because of his role in
what it called “US economic terrorism against interests of the
Islamic Republic and its citizens".
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, The Israeli
military reportedly intercepted a rocket fired by Palestinian
militants from the Gaza Strip late today in a rare attack
punctuating months of relative calm.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Mexican police in
Guanajuato state arrested Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz, aka el Marro,
the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima gang, along with five other
suspects allegedly holding a kidnapped businesswoman.
   (SFC, 8/3/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In the Philippines
coronavirus infections surged past 100,000 in a troubling milestone
after medical groups declared that the country was waging “a losing
battle” against the virus and asked the president to reimpose a
lockdown in the capital. The Department of Health reported a
record-high daily tally of 5,032, bringing the total confirmed cases
in the country to 103,185, including more than 2,000 deaths.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, South Korea
reported 30 new coronavirus cases, raising its total to 14,366 with
301 deaths, but said only eight were acquired in the country.
   (AP, 8/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Former Spanish
monarch Juan Carlos (82), who served as king for almost four
decades, left Spain for an unspecified destination amid a growing
financial scandal. Juan Carlos is the target of official
investigations in Spain and Switzerland, into possible financial
wrongdoing.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Sweden a girl
(12) was shot late today at a parking lot in the municipality of
Botkyrka that is a popular hangout for teenagers. Investigators
think the gunfire that killed her was intended for two men with ties
to a criminal gang.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Yemen’s Houthi
rebels reportedly shot down a US-made drone over the country's
northern border with Saudi Arabia.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Pres. Donald Trump
said he has fired Jeff Lyash, the chairman of the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA), and criticized the federally owned corporation for
hiring foreign workers. Rep. Sen. Lamar Alexander said the White
house was spreading misinformation about the TVA.
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.C3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, President Donald
Trump said that the US government should get a cut from a potential
Microsoft purchase of TikTok, a Chinese-owned video app.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, US Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for an American company to
purchase Chinese-owned video app TikTok in order to protect users'
data, saying "a safe way must be found for TikTok to continue".
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, A US judge voided
parts of a Trump administration rule that, according to New York's
attorney general, illegally restricted paid sick leave for workers
affected by the coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, The US Census
Bureau said that the door-knocking and ability for households to
respond either online, by phone or by mail to the questionnaire will
stop at the end of September instead of the end of October so that
it can meet an end-of-the-year deadline to turn in numbers used for
redrawing congressional districts.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In southern
California evacuation orders remained in place for thousands of
people after a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in
size and forced crews to battle flames in triple-digit heat. The
Apple Fire in Riverside County was 5% contained. The blaze began as
two adjacent fires were reported on July 23 in Cherry Valley.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020 Â Â Â Aug 3, California to date had 519,737 cases
of coronavirus and 9,499 deaths. The SF Bay Area had 56,161 cases
and 843 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over 4,710,282 with
the death toll at 155,331.
   (sfist.com, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, San Diego-based
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported second-quarter net income of
$22.1 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year
earlier.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, North Dakota-based
Fisher Industries won another contract, valued at $289 million, to
build 17 more miles of border wall in Laredo, Texas. US Sen. Kevin
Cramer, has championed the company to Pres. Donald Trump. The
Republican senator has received donations from the company.
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, It was reported
that pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Company is launching a
late-stage study of its monoclonal antibody technology, and has
employed a unique mobile treatment van to travel door to door to
deliver this promising therapy to the residents and staff of
America's long-term care facilities. Top scientists have said that a
treatment called monoclonal antibodies might offer some protection
from (coronavirus) infection until we get a vaccine capable of
delivering longer-term immunity. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
also announced the start of its own late-stage trial in July, and
has received funding from Operation Warp Speed.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said that the COVID-19 antibody drug combination
it is developing both prevented and treated the disease in rhesus
macaques and hamsters, adding to hope that it might work for people.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Afghan forces
retook a prison in the country’s east, following an hours-long
gunbattle a day after the Jalalabad facility was targeted by Islamic
State militants in an attack that killed 29 people. The prison is
believed to hold hundreds of IS members. Some of the 1,500 prisoners
there escaped during the fighting. About 1,000 prisoners who earlier
escaped had been found by security forces across the city. It wasn’t
immediately clear if any prisoners were still at large.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Albanian
prosecutors seized vast assets belonging to Ylli Ndroqi, also known
as Xhemal Pasmaciu, a businessman and a media mogul suspected of
building his empire with profits from drug trafficking. Ndroqi was
seen going to a police station, but has not been detained.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In Bolivia
supporters of former President Evo Morales began blocking roads
across the country to protest against the 2nd postponement of a
general election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next few
weeks at least 30 people died because of oxygen shortages.
Protesters said they are letting oxygen trucks and ambulances pass.
Bolivia has reported 95,071 coronavirus cases and 3,827 deaths.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.30)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, John Hume (83), the
visionary politician who won a Nobel Peace Prize for fashioning the
agreement that ended violence in his native Northern Ireland, died
in Northern Ireland. The Catholic leader of the moderate Social
Democratic and Labour Party, Hume was seen as the principal
architect of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace agreement.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hume)(AP,
8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, France-based
healthcare company Sanofi Aventis said it has been placed under
formal investigation on charges of manslaughter over Depakine, which
is an epilepsy drug that caused birth malfunctions and slow
neurological development when taken during pregnancy. Depakine,
which lost its patent in 1998, is prescribed in more than 100
countries.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Hong Kong reported
80 new coronavirus cases, dropping below 100 infections for the
first time in 12 days, as a team of Chinese officials began
preparations for widespread testing in the global financial hub,
which has seen a resurgence in cases.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, India reported
52,972 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 1.8
million - the third highest in the world. With 771 new deaths, the
COVID-19 disease has now killed 38,135 people.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Indian drugmaker
Wockhardt Ltd said it will supply millions of doses of multiple
COVID-19 vaccines, including that being developed by AstraZeneca and
Oxford University, under a deal with the UK government.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, It was reported
that the number of people who have died with COVID-19 in Iran is far
higher than the government has publicly admitted, according to
figures leaked to BBC Persian. These figures say 42,000 people had
died with the virus as of July 20. The official figure the same day
was 14,405. Likewise, the cumulative count of infections was 451,024
that day, according to the leaked figures, compared to a public
count of 278,827.
   (Business Insider, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, The Israeli
military said it thwarted an infiltration attempt from Syria early
today staged by four suspected militants it accused of trying to
plant explosives. Later today Israeli jets struck several Syrian
military targets, including intelligence-collection systems,
observation posts, antiaircraft artillery facilities, and command
and control centers, in response to the militant attack.
   (AP, 8/3/20)(SFC, 8/4/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In Italy the city
of Genoa inaugurated the new Genoa San Giorgio bridge, designed by
Renzo Piano and built in a record 15 months following its collapse
on Aug. 14, 2018.
   (SFC, 8/3/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Lebanon's foreign
minister resigned amid a severe economic and financial crisis
gripping the Arab country, warning that a lack of vision and a will
to make changes is risking turning Lebanon into a “failed state.”
Nassif Hitti was the first Cabinet minister to step down from his
post amid the crisis, which poses as the most significant threat to
the country since a devastating 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, It was reported
that authorities in the Netherlands and Spain have killed more than
1 million minks at breeding farms following outbreaks of coronavirus
in the animals.
   (SFC, 8/3/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, In North Korea an
apparent gas leak caused a deadly blast. As many as 15 people died
in the explosion and resulting fire at a house in Hyesan, Yanggang
Province.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Norway's
Hurtigruten cruise ship line halted all trips and apologized for
procedural errors after an outbreak of the coronavirus on the MS
Roald Amundsen ship infected at least 5 passengers and 36 crew.
   (SFC, 8/4/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Portugal reported
no coronavirus-related deaths from a day earlier for the first time
since mid-March, when a lockdown was put in place, and the lowest
number of new infections in almost three months. Portugal's total
confirmed cases rose by 106 to 51,569. The death toll remained
unchanged at 1,738.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, The Russian Direct
Investment Fund (RDIF) said that at least 150,000 packs of Avifavir,
an anti-viral drug Russian authorities have approved to treat
COVID-19, would be sent to Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Honduras, Paraguay and Uruguay. The drug will also be supplied to
South Africa.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Officials issued a
"serious" crisis warning in South Korea after a weekend of heavy
rainfall caused floodwaters to overtake cities across the region. In
Seoul the Han River spilled into the streets. At least 12 people
have been reported killed and another 13 missing due to the heavy
rainfall.
   (AccuWeather, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Spain said it aims
to roll out a COVID-19 contact-tracing app across the country in
September after a pilot showed it could detect almost twice as many
potential infections as human trackers during a simulated outbreak
on a tiny island. Spain used a new system developed by Google and
Apple which holds data on individual devices to ensure privacy.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, A Tanzanian
small-scale miner, who became an overnight millionaire in June for
selling two rough Tanzanite stones valued at $3.4m (£2.6m), has
sold another gem for $2m. The third discovery by Saniniu Laizer
weighed 6.3kg (14lb).
   (BBC, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, A confidential new
UN report warned that several countries believe North Korea has
likely developed miniaturized nuclear devices to fit into the
warheads of its nuclear devices.
   (The Telegraph, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, The World Health
Organization said an advance team looking into the origins of the
COVID-19 outbreak has concluded its mission in China, and the UN
health agency is preparing the deployment of a larger group of
experts to the suspected outbreak zone.
   (AP, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Vietnam reported 21
more novel coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of
cases in the country to 642. All of the new cases are linked to
Danang.
   (Reuters, 8/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights said Zimbabwe's military and police are continuing
to arrest scores of opposition members and activists after
authorities thwarted an anti-government protest last week. Human
rights groups accused the administration of President Emmerson
Mnangagwa of clamping down on dissent under the guise of enforcing
anti-COVID-19 lockdown rules.
   (AP, 8/3/20)  Â
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, President Donald
Trump signed legislation that will devote nearly $3 billion a year
to conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of
national parks and other public lands following its overwhelming
approval by both parties in Congress.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In an abrupt
reversal, President Donald Trump encouraged voters in the critical
swing state of Florida to vote by mail after months of criticizing
the practice, and only days after threatening to sue Nevada over a
new vote-by-mail law.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention issued a call to action to warn of a
potential outbreak between the end of this summer and winter of
Acute flaccid myelitis, a rare, but potentially lethal disease that
affects young children, where seeking medical attention right away
could make all the difference.
   (Good Morning America, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Tropical Storm
Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain along the US East Coast
after making landfall as a hurricane in North Carolina, where it
smashed boats together and caused floods and fires that displaced
dozens of people. One person in Maryland, one in Connecticut, one in
New York and two others in North Carolina died as a result of the
storm.
   (AP, 8/4/20)(Good Morning America, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Self-driving-car
engineer Anthony Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in prison by
a federal judge in San Francisco, after pleading guilty to one count
of trade secret theft in May. In 2021 Donald Trump pardoned
Levandowski in the final hours of his administration.
   (Business Insider, 8/4/20)(SFC, 1/21/21, p.C1)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, California to date
had 523,564 cases of coronavirus and 9,615 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 56,887 cases and 856 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
4,765,170 with the death toll at 156,668.
   (sfist.com, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Drew Drechsel,
known as “The Real Life Ninja” on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior,”
was arrested at his home in Saint Cloud, Florida. He is accused of
manufacturing child porn, enticing a minor to travel for sex and use
of interstate commerce to entice a minor.
   (Miami Herald, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Chicago rapper
Carlton Weekly (26) was killed in a triple shooting in the city's
upscale community of Gold Coast. Weekly had performed as FBG Duck
and rapped about gun violence. His last video, "Dead Bitches," was
released in July.
   (AP, 8/5/20)(Econ., 9/5/20, p.71)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Mississippi Gov.
Tate Reeves said that he is setting a statewide order for people to
wear masks in public amid a recent surge in confirmed coronavirus
cases.
   (SFC, 8/5/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In Missouri Cori
Bush (44), a onetime homeless woman who led protests following a
white police officer's fatal shooting of a Black 18-year-old in
Ferguson, ousted longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in the Democratic
primary, ending a political dynasty that has spanned more than a
half-century.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Missouri became the
38th state to approve the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare as
voters approved the measure in a referendum conducted concurrently
with the state’s primary.
   (Yahoo News, 8/5/20)(SFC, 8/6/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Frances Allen,
American computer scientist and researcher, died at a nursing home
in Schenectady, NY. She helped create the fundamental ideas that
allow practically anyone to build fast, efficient and useful
software for computers, smartphones and websites
   (NY Times, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Medical device
maker Abiomed Inc said the US Food and Drug Administration granted
its left-sided heart pumps emergency use authorization to help
patients suffering from COVID-19-related heart and lung failures.
   (Reuters, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Veru Inc., an
oncology and urology biopharmaceutical company with a focus on
developing novel medicines for the management of prostate cancer,
announced that it has confirmed in an in vitro study that VERU-111
has anti-inflammatory action against the key cytokines involved in
the cytokine storm triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
   (Global Newswire, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Argentina reached a
deal with creditors as the country recorded 166 COVID-19 deaths, a
daily record.
   (Econ., 8/8/20, p.26)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, The government of
Brazil said an eighth minister in President Jair Bolsonaro's Cabinet
has tested positive for the new coronavirus. Brazil has confirmed
more than 2.8 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began.
The official death toll has risen to 94,665, with 51,603 new cases
and 1,154 deaths in the past 24 hours.
   (Reuters, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Indonesia said it
will have capacity to produce 250 million doses a year of a
coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020 pending trials on humans, as
the country seeks to halt a wave of infections that has shown no
sign of relent. Indonesia has confirmed 115,056 cases of COVID-19
and 5,388 deaths since its first infections in March.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Iran confirmed over
2,700 new COVID-19 infections, its highest single-day count in more
than a month, as the health ministry called for those without masks
to be fined. The latest count takes the total cases identified in
Iran since late February to 314,786. Another 212 people died from
the virus during the past 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to
17,617.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Dozens of Lebanese
protesters tried to storm the Ministry of Energy, angered by
prolonged power cuts as the country grapples with a crippling
economic crisis. The highly-indebted government is facing a rapid
inflation, soaring unemployment and poverty, made worse by the
coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In Lebanon an
explosion in Beirut killed at least 160 people and injured some
6,000 others. The blast appears to have been caused by the ignition
of a stockpile of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in
fertilizers and explosives, that had been stored at the port since
2013 when it was seized from the MV Rhosus, a Russian-owned cargo
ship. 640 historic buildings were damaged. Deaths due to the blast
later reached 215.
   (AP, 8/5/20)(SFC, 8/6/20, p.A2)(AP, 8/7/20)(AP,
8/9/20)(Econ., 8/8/20, p.35)(Econ., 9/26/20, p.46)(SSFC, 9/26/21,
p.A17)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, The chemical tanker
Etienne rescued a group of 27 would-be refugees at the request of
Maltese authorities as the migrants’ fishing boat sank. Malta,
however, refused to let the migrants disembark and the Etienne has
been stuck in international waters 17 miles off the small European
Union island nation as food and water supplies are running low.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Dutch health
authorities said new confirmed coronavirus cases nearly doubled in
the Netherlands over the past week to 2,588.
   (Reuters, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, A Pakistani court
sparked outrage by ruling a 14-year-old Christian girl was legally
married to a Muslim man who allegedly abducted her at gunpoint. The
Lahore High Court ruled that Maira Shahbaz had willingly converted
to Islam and married Mohamad Nakash.
   (The Telegraph, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Philippine police
deployed road blocks to enforce a tough new lockdown on about 28
million people in the capital Manila and nearby provinces as the
Southeast Asian country reported the region's biggest daily rise in
coronavirus cases. The health ministry reported 6,352 new cases.
Total infections rose to 112,593 with rising to roughly 2,100.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Taiwan said it
provisionally approved the use of dexamethasone, a cheap and
widely-used steroid, to treat the new coronavirus, as the island
faces a shortfall of the antiviral drug remdesivir after the United
States bought nearly all global supplies. Taiwan has reported 476
cases of the new coronavirus, including seven deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Turkey reported
1,083 new coronavirus cases and 18 deaths bringing the total
infections to nearly 235,000 and deaths to 5,765.
   (SFC, 8/5/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the coronavirus pandemic has
led to the largest disruption of education in history, with schools
closed in more than 160 countries in mid-July, affecting over 1
billion students.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, The UN
International Labor Organization welcomed a global agreement to
combat the worst forms of child labor as the first time all of its
member states have ratified a convention — in a process that lasted
21 years.
   (AP, 8/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In Venezuela the
Nicolás Maduro regime promoted Interior Minister Néstor Reverol to
General in Chief, even though the officer is charged by federal
prosecutors in New York with accepting large bribes in exchange for
protecting drug shipments to the United States.
   (Miami Herald, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Zimbabwe's Pres.
Mnangagwa called the main opposition party "Terrorist," and vowed to
"flush out" his opponents as anger with his government grows over
alleged corruption and economic mismanagement.
   (BBC, 8/4/20)(SFC, 8/5/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, It was reported
that President Donald Trump's reelection campaign and the national
Republican Party have sued Nevada to block a new law that will send
a mail-in ballot to every registered voter ahead of November's
election.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, The US State
Department announced its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program with
bounties of up to $10 million for information that helps it catch
state hackers trying to meddle in the 2020 presidential election.
State-backed hackers from Russia, China, and Iran have already been
detected trying to interfere with the 2020 election.
   (Business Insider, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, The United States
imposed sanctions on Kuda Tagwirei, a business associate of
Zimbabwe's Pres. Emmerson Mnangagwa, in signs of the international
community’s growing frustration with Mnangagwa’s administration.
Over the last few days, in response to a particularly brutal,
public, widespread, and on-going clampdown by security forces, the
hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter has gone viral, globally.
   (AP, 8/6/20)(BBC, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Arizona officials
said 517 inmates at the state prison in Tucson have tested positive
this week for the coronavirus. The state has 180,500 confirmed cases
and more than 3,800 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
   (SFC, 8/6/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In Los Angeles
Grammy Award-winning producer Detail, whose real name is Noel
Fisher, was arrested in a sexual assault investigation. Detail has
worked with the likes of Beyoncé and Lil Wayne.
   (Entertainment Weekly, 8/5/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, California to date
had 528,567 cases of coronavirus and 9,707 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 57,708 cases and 866 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
4,816,509 with the death toll at 157,854.
   (sfist.com, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In Colorado a house
fire killed five family members, including an infant and a
2-year-old. The victims were members of Denver's Senegalese
community. Police later said fire appeared to be deliberately set by
three unknown individuals wearing dark hoodies and full-face masks
who fled the area in a dark colored 4-door sedan. On Jan. 27, 2021,
three teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of murder and arson
stemming from the house fire.
   (SFC, 8/6/20, p.A4)(NBC News, 8/19/20)(Reuters,
1/27/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Iowa Gov. Kim
Reynolds signed an executive order granting convicted felons the
right to vote after they complete their sentences, ending Iowa’s
place as the only remaining state to broadly deny voting rights to
felons.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Missouri became the
38th state to approve expanding Medicaid health care coverage to
thousands more low-income adults in a vote paired with primary
elections.
   (SFC, 8/6/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Luis Archuleta
(77), convicted of shooting Denver police Officer Daril Cinquanta in
the stomach in 1971, was arrested in New Mexico. Archuleta, also
known as Larry Pusateri, was convicted in 1973. He escaped from a
Colorado state prison facility the next year.
   (NBC News, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In New York City
journalist Pete Hamill (85) died. The columnist, editor and author
personified the great New York City newspaper wars of a bygone era.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, It was reported
that Johnson & Johnson has agreed to supply 100 million doses of
its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to the United States for more than $1
billion. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S, is
still in the first and second phases of clinical trials.
   (Good Morning America, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Instagram, a unit
of Facebook, launched Reels, a TikTok look-alike.
   (Econ., 8/8/20, p.52)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Moderna Inc said
smaller volume agreements for its experimental coronavirus vaccine
have been priced in the range of $32 to $37 per dose, higher than
the price set by the US deal for Pfizer Inc's vaccine candidate.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Abu Dhabi state
news said the emirate's defence and security entity Tawazun is to
build a satellite assembly, integration and testing center with
Airbus in the United Arab Emirates' oasis city of Al Ain.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In Australia the
streets of Melbourne’s usually vibrant downtown were draining of
signs of life on the eve of Australia’s toughest-ever pandemic
restrictions coming into force. Victoria set a new daily record of
725 coronavirus cases. Elsewhere in Australia, only 14 new
infections were found.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Britain's all-party
home affairs committee said the Government’s “inexplicable” decision
to lift restrictions on some one million people who arrived in the
UK between March 13 and lockdown on March 23 contributed to the pace
and scale of the Covid-19 outbreak in Britain.
   (The Telegraph, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Chinese
video-sharing app TikTok said it updated its content policies to
curb misinformation on its platform ahead of the presidential
election in the United States.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Egypt and Sudan
suspended talks with Ethiopia after it proposed linking a deal on
its newly constructed reservoir and giant hydroelectric dam to a
broader agreement about the Blue Nile waters that would replace a
colonial-era accord with Britain. Negotiations had just resumed
through online conferencing on August 3.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, India's PM Narendra
Modi set the ceremonial cornerstone for a new Hindu temple at the
site of a destroyed mosque in Ayodhya. Hindu devotees had destroyed
the mosque in 1992.
   (SFC, 8/6/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, The Israeli
military said it was establishing a coronavirus task force aimed at
cutting the chain of infection in the country. Since reopening the
economy in May new cases have spiked to record highs, with upwards
of 2,000 infections a day.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, In Mozambique
insurgents another assault on the port of Mocimoa da Praia. They
killed more than 50 soldiers and sank a small naval ship.
   (Econ., 8/29/20, p.32)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Relatives of a top
Palestinian official rampaged through Ramallah late today, firing
into the air and at government buildings after family member Khalil
al-Sheikh was killed in a personal quarrel with a Palestinian
security officer. Al-Sheikh was the brother of Hussein al-Sheikh,
one of the most powerful men in the West Bank.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Officials in
Scotland ordered bars, cafes and restaurants in the city of Aberdeen
to close, re-imposing anti-virus restrictions after a cluster of 54
confirmed COVID-19 cases in the area was linked to a single bar.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Dr. Hawa Abdi (73),
human rights activist and a rescuer of Somalia's refugees, died in
Mogadishu.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawa_Abdi)(Econ.,
10/31/20, p.78)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Sri Lanka held
parliamentary elections. The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
(SLPP) secured a landslide victory. The United National Party was
reduced to one member in the 225-seat parliament, down from 106.
   (AP, 8/9/20)(Econ., 8/5/20, p.36)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, The UN reported
that more than 1,300 people were killed in the first half of 2020 by
armed groups in DR Congo, three times more than in the same period
in 2019.
   (AFP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Vietnam's health
ministry reported an additional 41 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the
country's total to 713 infections, with 8 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, President Trump
signed executive orders barring transactions with TikTok and WeChat,
two popular Chinese social media networks. The orders, which cited
national security concerns, take effect in 45 days. Tencent, the
owner of WeChat, is a Hong Kong-listed firm with close ties to
China's Communist Party.
   (NY Times, 8/7/20)(Econ., 8/15/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, President Trump
said during a campaign visit to Ohio that Joe Biden is "following
the radical left agenda: take away your guns, destroy your Second
Amendment, no religion, no anything, hurt the Bible, hurt God.”
“He’s against God, he’s against guns.”
   (Yahoo News, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, The US government
sent text messages to cellphones in Russia and Iran offering up to
$10 million for information about people trying to attack American
voting systems.
   (NY Times, 8/7/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, California to date
had 537,410 cases of coronavirus and 9,965 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 58,769 cases and 881 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
4,870,367 with the death toll at 159,864.
   (sfist.com, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, The New York
attorney general, Letitia James, filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve
the National Rifle Association.
   (NY Times, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Saad Aljabri, a
former top Saudi intelligence official publicly, filed a lawsuit in
a US federal court, accusing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of
sending a team of agents to Canada to kill him in October 2018.
   (NY Times, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Brent Scowcroft
(95), who played a prominent role in American foreign policy as
national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W.
Bush, died in Virginia. He was a Republican voice against the 2003
invasion of Iraq.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, A study, published
in Nature, found that a drug-resistant strain of the parasites that
cause malaria were able to resist treatment by artemisinin - a
frontline drug in the fight against the disease. Researchers warned
that this "would pose a major public health threat" in Africa.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, It was reported
that Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1 million,
but global health experts say the true toll is likely several times
higher. More than 22,000 people in Africa have died of COVID-19 and
infections were surging.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca Plc said Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products will
produce the company's potential COVID-19 vaccine in mainland China.
   (Reuters, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, In China the
Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court sentenced Xu Weihong, a
Canadian citizen, to death on drug charges. Accomplice Wen Guanxiong
was given a life sentence.
   (SFC, 8/7/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Egypt and Greece
signed a maritime deal that sets the sea boundary between the two
countries and demarcates an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas
drilling rights. The deal is a response to a similar agreement
between Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based government last year that
has spiked tensions in the East Mediterranean region.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, French President
Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut following the August 4 blast that
killed more than 130 people. Macron promised that French aid would
be given out with transparency.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Germany's health
minister announced that Germany will require people arriving from
countries deemed high risk, such as the United States, to take
coronavirus tests starting this weekend, as the country recorded its
highest daily tally of new infections in three months.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Guinea's ruling
party asked Pres. Alpha Conde (82) to run for a third term in
elections set for October.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.44)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, India recorded is
biggest single-day death toll of 904 as new infections surged by
56,282 to nearly 2 million.
   (SFC, 8/7/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Ivory Coast Pres.
Alassane Ouattara agreed to contest elections in October. Opposition
parties held that he has hit his term limit.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Lebanese
authorities arrested 16 people over the massive explosion at
Beirut's port that killed at least 149 people.
   (The Week, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, A lone survivor was
rescued off the coast of Mauritania. 27 people reportedly died after
the engines on their migrant vessel failed, leaving them stranded
near Nouadhibou.
   (AFP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, A surge in
coronavirus cases in the Netherlands continued, rising to 601 cases
in the past 24 hours from 427 cases a day earlier.
   (Reuters, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, It was reported
that North Korea is quarantining thousands of people and shipping
food and other aid to a southern city locked down over coronavirus
worries.
   (The Telegraph, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Poland's Pres.
Andrzej Duda was sworn in for a second term as president. It was
reported that LGBT people are choosing to leave Poland amid rising
homophobia promoted by Duda and other right-wing populist
politicians in power.
   (AP, 8/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Poland reported a
record 726 coronavirus infections, as it announced renewed local
restrictions to counter the spike in cases. The health ministry said
restrictions would return in 19 counties worst affected by the
pandemic. Poland has reported a total of 49,515 coronavirus cases
and 1,774 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, The UN said almost
150 people were extrajudicially killed by Malian and Burkinabe
security forces in Mali between April and June. The quarterly
MINUSMA report also found 50 extrajudicial killings in late May by
Burkina Faso troops in the village of Boulkessi, and settlements
close to the nation's Mali border. More than 1,700 people were
killed by armed groups in the first half of this year, up from about
300 in the whole of 2018.
   (AFP, 8/6/20)(Econ., 9/5/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, The UN said
seasonal torrential rains have wreaked havoc on houses and
infrastructure across Sudan, affecting more than 50,000 people.
   (AP, 8/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Airstrikes in
northern Yemen killed as many as nine children, making it the third
such attack with significant child deaths in that rebel-controlled
region this month.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, US treasury
department head Steven Mnuchin said the US has imposed sanctions on
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam, and 10 other senior Chinese and Hong
Kong officials, in response to the crackdown on free speech and
political freedoms in the city.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, A US federal judge
granted the government's request to immediately end the Paramount
Decrees, a set of antitrust rules from the late 1940s and early
1950s that ended Hollywood's monopoly on producing, distributing and
exhibiting movies.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, US Postmaster
General Louis DeJoy said the USPS faces a "dire" financial position
even as it posted a slightly narrower third-quarter loss amid
soaring package demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Officials in
Anchorage, Alaska, won a key ruling in favor of a ban on indoor
restaurant dining after a standoff over COVID-19 restrictions moved
to court.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, The California
insurance commissioner's office said it has settled a case with
drugmaker AbbVie. The company will pay $24 million to settle
allegations of $1.2 billion in fraudulent insurance claims related
to prescriptions of the arthritis drug Humira.
   (SFC, 8/8/20, p.C1)
2020 Â Â Â Aug 7, California to date had 543,657 cases
of coronavirus and 10,097 deaths. The SF Bay Area had 60,018 cases
and 899 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over 4,926,063 with
the death toll at 160,980.
   (sfist.com, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, In Florida the
Broward State Attorney’s Office said it is dropping the armed
robbery case against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar
(28), but will prosecute New York Giants cornerback Deandre Baker
(22) for stealing jewelry and money from people, at gunpoint, nearly
3 months ago at a house party in Miramar.
   (Miami Herald, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, The Crow Tribe in
Montana ordered its members to lock down for two weeks beginning
today as tribal leaders moved to slow a sharp spike in coronavirus
cases and deaths on yet another reservation in the country.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo said that all school districts in his state, once the
epicenter of the nation's COVID-19 crisis, could open for in-person
learning in the fall based on their current low infection rates of
the virus.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Portland's nightly
protests turned violent again even after the city's mayor pleaded
for demonstrators to stay off the streets. A police officer hit by a
rock early today suffered what was described as a serious injury.
The overnight protest was in a residential neighborhood 6 miles away
from the federal courthouse.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Thousands of bikers
poured into the small South Dakota city of Sturgis as the 80th
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally rumbled to life despite fears it could lead
to a massive coronavirus outbreak. Daily virus cases have been
trending upward in South Dakota, but the seven-day average is still
only around 84, with fewer than two deaths per day.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Dalia Samoudi (23),
a Palestinian woman, died after being shot in the chest by an
apparent stray bullet during an Israeli raid in the occupied West
Bank city of Jenin.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Cincinnati-based
Meridian Bioscience Inc. (VIVO) reported fiscal third-quarter profit
of $27.5 million.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Pfizer Inc said it
has signed a multiyear agreement to make COVID-19 treatment
remdesivir for developer Gilead Sciences Inc, which is under
pressure to increase tight supplies of the antiviral drug.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Bulgarian police
removed dozens of tent camps that had blocked key city intersections
across the country as part of antigovernment protests.
   (SFC, 8/8/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, China sentenced a
fourth Canadian citizen to death on drug charges in less than two
years following a sharp downturn in ties over the arrest of an
executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei. Ye Jianhui was sentenced by
the Foshan Municipal Intermediate Court in the southern province of
Guangdong. The court said he had been found guilty of manufacturing
and transporting illegal drugs. Death sentences are automatically
referred to China’s highest court for review.
   (Politico, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Israeli operatives,
at the behest of the United States, assassinated Abu Muhammad
al-Masri, al Qaeda's second-highest leader, in Tehran according to a
NY Times report in November. Iran at this time identified the
victims as Habib Daoud, a Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese history
professor, and his daughter. Intelligence officials later said those
were aliases. Al-Masri was a mastermind behind the 1998 attacks on
American embassies in multiple African countries. Iran denied the NY
Times report.
   (NY Times, 11/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, In North Korea a
train carrying goods arrived in the "totally blocked" city of
Kaesong, following the discovery there of the country's first
suspected coronavirus case.
   (The Telegraph, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Pakistan recorded
782 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 17 deaths.
In total Pakistan has reported 282,642 confirmed cases and 6,052
deaths.
   (SFC, 8/8/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, South Korea's
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said local biotech firm Genexine
Inc has received regulatory approval for a Phase I human clinical
trial of its experimental coronavirus treatment drug.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Spain reported
1,895 new coronavirus infections in the past day, mainly in the
regions of the Basque Country, Catalonia and Aragon. Spain has seen
a total of 314,362 cases of COVID-19 and recorded 28,503 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Switzerland said it
has signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to the
COVID-19 vaccine the US biotech company is developing.
   (Reuters, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, A Venezuelan court
sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in
prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing
President Nicolás Maduro. Former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan
Berry admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by
a third ex-US soldier who remains in the United States.
   (AP, 8/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, President Trump
signed four executive orders on economic aid as stimulus talks
stalled. Their impact may be limited, and legal challenges are
expected. Trump extended supplemental unemployment benefits, but at
a reduced rate of $400 per week from the previous $600. He also
claimed authority to defer payroll taxes from august 1 to the end of
the year.
   (NY Times, 8/9/20)(SSFC, 8/9/20, p.A8)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, California to date
had 555,544 cases of coronavirus and 10,329 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 60,834 cases and 909 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
5,003,600 with the death toll at 162,422.
   (sfist.com, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Portland,
Oregon, a fire inside a police union building late today led
authorities to declare a riot and force protesters away from the
offices as violent demonstrations continued in the city.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Texas a pair of
Fort Hood soldiers were among those arrested at the conclusion of a
two-day child prostitution sting. Nine men arrested also included a
third US service member.
   (Miami Herald, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Brazil surpassed a
grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. The Health Ministry
said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with
the new coronavirus.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Britain’s military
said it has been asked by the government to help prevent people from
reaching the UK from France in small boats, after a surge in the
number of vessels making the dangerous journey.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Health care workers
rallied in British cities demanding hefty pay raises for their hard
work during the pandemic.
   (SSFC, 8/9/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, China reported 31
new coronavirus cases, mainly in the western Xinjiang region, where
an outbreak has infected 750 people.
   (SSFC, 8/9/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In northeastern
Czech Republic at least 11 people were killed and 10 others injured
in an apartment building fire in the town of Bohumin.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Konrad Steffen
(69), a renowned researcher who helped warn the world that climate
change was melting Greenland’s massive ice sheet, died there in an
ice crevasse accident.
   (NY Times, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Iran's semiofficial
Mehr news agency reported that an unknown gunman has killed two
Lebanese nationals on the streets of Tehran. The assailant, riding a
motorcycle, shot dead Maryam Dawood (27) and her father Habib
Dawood, a history professor.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Israel thousands
of demonstrators thronged the streets near the official residence of
PM Benjamin Netanyahu in central Jerusalem, in a renewed show of
strength as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader showed no
signs of slowing.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Italy’s health
minister announced that women in Italy can now use the abortion pill
on an outpatient basis rather than be hospitalized to terminate a
pregnancy.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Lebanon security
forces fired tear gas and clashed with stone-throwing demonstrators
n Beirut amid mounting fury over the massive explosion that
devastated much of the city and killed nearly 160 people.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Mexico officials
in Guanajuato state confirmed that the bodies of seven men wee found
with multiple gunshot wounds on the side of a road outside
Jerecuaro. The state has seen more than 9,000 killings since a turf
war began in 2017 between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the rival
Jalisco cartel.
   (SFC, 8/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Police in North
Macedonia found 94 migrants packed into a truck in the country’s
southeast. The truck driver fled from the scene.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Tens of thousands
of people took to the streets in Russia's Far East for a fifth
consecutive weekend as anti-Kremlin rallies showed little sign of
dying down. Protesters demanded that regional governor Sergei Furgal
be either released or tried in Khabarovsk.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Poland
demonstrators turned out in Warsaw and other Polish cities to
protest anti-LGBT attitudes promoted by the government as well as
the detention of pro-LGBT protesters.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, A suicide car
bomber attacked a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu,
killing at least eight people and injuring 14 others.
   (AP, 8/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, A US Border Patrol
agent assigned to Tucson, Arizona, was arrested and charged with
drug trafficking after he was found with thousands of pills and
substances that tested positive for cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
   (Business Insider, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, A salmonella
outbreak linked to onions has expanded to 43 states and Canada,
prompting a recall from a producer in California and various grocery
chains.
   (NY Times, 8/9/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, California to date
had 559,963 cases of coronavirus and 10,374 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 61,951 cases and 911 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached over
5,040,904 with the death toll at 162,912.
   (sfist.com, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Police in
Louisville, Kentucky, banned protesters from demonstrating in the
streets, after more than 70 nights of consecutive protests over the
police killing of local Black woman Breonna Taylor. A handful of
people were taken into custody for disorderly conduct and
obstructing the roadway late today after the new restrictions went
into place.
   (Insider, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In Washington, DC,
a dispute that erupted into gun fire during a large outdoor party
early today left one person dead and some 20 others injured.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, The most powerful
earthquake to hit North Carolina in more than 100 years shook much
of the state early today, rattling homes, businesses and residents.
the 5.1-magnitude temblor was the largest earthquake to hit the
state since 1916, when a magnitude 5.5 quake occurred near Skyland.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, A traditional
Afghan council concluded with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free
400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to
negotiations between Afghanistan's warring sides.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Belarus held a
presidential election. Opposition supporters suspected that election
officials will manipulate results to give President Alexander
Lukashenko (65) a sixth term in office. The opposition has coalesced
around one candidate: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed
opposition blogger. A government exit poll said Aleksandr Lukashenko
had won almost 80 percent of the vote. That triggered protests
against the repressive regime, and a heavy police response.
   (AP, 8/9/20)(NY Times, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In Egypt a car
crash left at least nine people dead and seven others injured north
of Cairo when a microbus collided with a small truck on a highway in
the Nile Delta town of Banha.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, The six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), torn apart by internal strife, endorsed
an extension of a UN arms embargo on Iran, just two months before it
is set to expire.
   (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE,
GCC)
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, India recorded
nearly 64,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, raising
its total to 2,153,010. The Indian Medical Association said 196
doctors have died of COVID-19.
   (SFC, 8/10/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Namibia has seen a
steady uptick of new coronavirus infections and has now reported
2,949 cases of COVID-19 and 19 deaths since the start of the
outbreak. The government planned for the first time to auction its
60% share of the country's annual horse mackerel and hake output to
the highest bidder by the end of October, as it scrambles to raise
funds for equipment and medicines to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In Niger gunmen
attacked a group of aid workers, killing six French citizens and two
guides at a giraffe park in the Koure region. On Sept. 17 the
Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
   (AP, 8/9/20)(SFC, 9/18/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In Pakistan troops
with boats rushed to evacuate people in Sindh province as three days
of heavy monsoon rains killed at least 58 people across the country.
   (SFC, 8/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Puerto Rico was
forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of
ballots as officials called on the president of the US territory’s
elections commission to resign.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Sri Lanka’s former
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the prime minister for
the fourth time after his party secured a landslide victory in
parliamentary elections that cemented his family's hold on power.
Rajapaksa took oath before his younger brother, President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Yemen's Houthi
rebels said that floods have swept through rebel-held parts of the
country since mid-July amid heavy seasonal rains, leaving more than
130 dead and damaging more than 260 homes.
   (AP, 8/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, The US Federal
Reserve announced how much each large bank that underwent its 2020
stress tests will have to hold in additional capital.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, The Environmental
Protection Agency approved a new chemical for use in repelling
mosquitos, ticks, and other disease-bearing insects. The newly
approved chemical, nootkatone, is a nontoxic oil found in Alaskan
yellow cedars (Cupressus nootkatensis) and grapefruits, and it is so
aromatic and safe for humans it is used in foods and perfumes.
   (The Week, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, A rare storm
packing 100 mph winds and with power similar to an inland hurricane
swept across the Midwest, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles,
causing widespread property damage and leaving hundreds of thousands
without power as it moved through Chicago and into Indiana and
Michigan. The storm known as a derecho lasted several hours as it
tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and
Illinois. Iowa state's agriculture department later estimated that
the severe windstorm destroyed or seriously damaged more than 57
million bushels of commercial grain storage capacity in Iowa and a
similar amount on farms.
   (AP, 8/10/20)(Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, A California judge
ordered ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to classify their
drivers in the state as employees eligible for benefits, rather than
independent contractors.
   (The Week, 8/11/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, California to
date had 571,539 cases of coronavirus and 10,451 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 63,636 cases and 913 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,079,941 with the death toll at 163,331.
   (sfist.com, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Chicago more
than 100 people were arrested following a night of looting and
unrest that left 13 officers injured and caused damage in the city's
upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the
city. Prosecutors later charged 42 people with felonies in
connection with the looting.
   (AP, 8/10/20)(SFC, 8/15/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Maryland a gas
explosion blew out windows and blasted doors off their hinges in
three two-story rowhomes in Northwest Baltimore, killing one woman
and injuring at least six other people.
   (The Week, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, It was reported
that at least five horses have been killed around Pearland, Texas,
since late May. Police believe the horses were killed for their
meat.
   (MH, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Portland,
Oregon, demonstrators took to the streets again late today and
police broke up a protest outside a police precinct substation after
they said protesters shined strobe lights at officers and hurled
eggs and water bottles at them.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Washington
state Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announced her retirement late
today after the City Council voted to slash the $400-million police
budget by nearly $4 million.
   (The Week, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Gilead Sciences
Inc said it has filed a marketing application with the US Food and
Drug Administration for its experimental COVID-19 drug remdesivir.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, McDonald's filed a
lawsuit accusing former CEO Steve Easterbrook of lying, concealing
evidence, and fraud linked to a sexual relationship with a
subordinate while he was running the company.
   (The Week, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Omeros Corp said
its experimental treatment helped six patients, with acute
respiratory distress syndrome caused by COVID-19, recover and get
discharged from the hospital, sending the drug developer's shares up
60%.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Bahrain said
Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm has begun Phase
III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Bahrain, after
launching similar trials in the United Arab Emirates last month.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Belarus’
authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko warned that the
protesters who challenge the official vote results extending his
26-year rule will face a tough crackdown, deriding the opposition as
“sheep” manipulated by foreign masters. Election officials said that
Lukashenko won a sixth term in office with 80% of the vote, while
opposition challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya got 10%. Protester
Alexander Taraikovsky (34), died in the Minsk under disputed
circumstances. Mobile phone internet went offline after protesters
clashed with police a day earlier.
   (AP, 8/10/20)(Reuters, 8/11/20)(AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Bhutan ordered its
first nationwide lockdown after a returning resident tested positive
for coronavirus after being discharged from quarantine and coming
into close contact with people in the capital Thimphu.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, A Royal Air Force
surveillance plane flew over the English Channel as the British
government sought to curb the number of people crossing from France
in small boats. An inflatable dinghy carrying about 20 people was
met by a UK Border Force boat and escorted to the port of Dover.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, China announced
unspecified sanctions against 11 US politicians and heads of
organizations promoting democratic causes, including Senators Marco
Rubio and Ted Cruz, who have already been singled out by Beijing.
The number of Americans named by the ministry exactly equals the
number of Hong Kong and Chinese officials placed on a sanctions list
by the US last week over the crackdown.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Cuba reported a
record 93 cases of the new coronavirus as a surge of the disease in
the Havana area threatened to stall the re-opening of the country
after a partial lockdown beginning in March. Cuba has reported just
under 3,000 cases and 88 deaths to date.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Denmark said it
has seen a new spread of COVID-19 infections in the past week with
the reproduction rate rising to 1.4. In the past week infections
have been confirmed in 67 out of Denmark's 98 municipalities.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, The Greek
government imposed a midnight closing time on bars, cafes, clubs and
restaurants from August 11 to August 23 to help stem increasing
coronavirus cases.
   (SFC, 8/17/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, The Hong Kong
police arrested Jimmy Lai (72), a pro-democracy media tycoon and
high-profile critic of the Chinese Communist Party, on charges of
violating a sweeping new national security law imposed by Beijing.
the Hong Kong Police Force said seven men between the ages of 39 and
72 were arrested on suspicion of breaching the security law. Two of
Lai's sons were among those arrested.
   (NY Times, 8/10/20)(The Week, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Iran shut down the
Jahane Sanat newspaper after it published remarks by an expert who
said the official figures on coronavirus cases and deaths in the
country account for only 5% of the real toll, allegations rejected
by the Health Ministry.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Lebanon’s Cabinet
resigned over last week's devastating blast at the Beirut port, a
decision that was made under pressure as several ministers quit or
expressed their intention to step down. PM Diab's Cabinet now
assumes a caretaker role until a new government is formed.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Nigeria
musician Sharif-Aminu (22) was sentenced in northern state of Kano
to death by hanging for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad.
Critics said the song was blasphemous as it praised an imam from the
Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood to the extent it elevated him above the
Prophet Muhammad. An appeal was allowed.
   (AP, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, The Philippines
reported 6,958 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily case
increase in the Southeast Asian country, taking its tally of cases
to 136,638. A Health Ministry bulletin also reported 24 more
fatalities, bringing the country's coronavirus death toll to 2,293.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Somalia at
least 20 people were killed in a shoot-out between jailed militant
Islamists and security officers at a prison in Mogadishu during an
attempted prison escape.
   (BBC, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Sri Lanka began
reopening schools. Health authorities said the COVID-19 outbreak has
been under control.
   (SFC, 8/11/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Trinidad and
Tobago re-elected Keith Rawley (b.1949) as prime minister.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Rowley)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Turkey vowed to
press ahead with searching for oil and gas in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea, saying it plans to issue new exploration licenses
for the area despite an escalating dispute with Greece over drilling
rights. Greece slammed the announcement.
   (AP, 8/11/20)(SFC, 8/11/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Vietnam's health
ministry reported six more coronavirus infections and two additional
deaths, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian
country to 847, with 13 fatalities.
   (Reuters, 8/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Joe Biden selected
Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate. She is the
first Black woman, and the first person of Indian descent, to be
nominated for national office by a major party.
   (NY Times, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, The Big Ten and
the Pac-12, two major college sports conferences whose schools
include Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon, called off their football
seasons for the fall.
   (NY Times, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Mark Grenon,
self-styled archbishop in a Florida-based church, was arrested in
Colombia along with one of his sons. Grenon had marketed "Miracle
Mineral Solution" (MMS), a form of toxic bleach associated with
seven deaths in the US. In recent years advocates of MMS have
established a significant presence in Latin America.
   (Business Insider, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, UCSF researchers
reported that they have developed synthetic antibodies. dubbed
AeroNabs, that neutralize the coronavirus.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A1)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, California to
date had 576,427 cases of coronavirus and 10,500 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 65,140 cases and 929 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,116,751 with the death toll at 164,137.
   (sfist.com, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, American singer
and actor Trini Lopez (83), known for his cover of "If I Had a
Hammer," died in Palm Springs, Ca.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trini_Lopez)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Sumner Redstone
(97), the billionaire entrepreneur who built a media empire
encompassing CBS and Viacom, died in Los Angeles.
   (NY Times, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Florida recorded a
record high single-day death toll with 277 of the nation's 1,282
deaths..
   (The Week, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, The US state of
Georgia recorded a record high single-day death toll with 122 of the
nation's 1,282 deaths.
   (The Week, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Arcturus
Therapeutics Holdings Inc said the first group of participants had
been dosed in an early-stage trial testing its COVID-19 vaccine
candidate and that results from the trial were expected in the
fourth quarter.
   (Reuters, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Moderna Inc said
there was a possibility it was not the first company to make
breakthroughs claimed in its patent applications, including those
for its experimental coronavirus vaccine, according to a recent
regulatory filing.
   (Reuters, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Sviatlana
Tsikhanouskaya, the top opposition candidate in Belarus'
presidential vote, said she has left for Lithuania and called on her
supporters to end demonstrations. Her husband has been at a
Belarusian jail since his arrest in May.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, A British appeals
court ruled that the use of facial recognition technology violated
human rights and data protection laws. Civil rights campaigner Ed
Bridges had his face scanned while shopping in 2017 and again as he
attended a peaceful anti-arms protest in 2018.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, China's Sinovac
Biotech Ltd launched a late-stage human trial that will involve as
many as 1,620 patients in Indonesia for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate
that it is developing with Indonesian state-owned peer Bio Farma.
   (Reuters, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Egyptians started
two days of voting for the Senate, the upper chamber of parliament
that was revived as part of constitutional amendments approved in a
referendum last year. The vote is mostly a symbolic exercise. The
300-seat Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, the lower
chamber, has no legislative powers and will have mainly an advisory
role.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Egypt reopened
Gaza’s main passenger crossing point for the first time in months
for thousands of Palestinians who have been stranded on both sides
of the border due to the coronavirus crisis.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, German biotech
firm BioNTech, which is working with US pharma giant Pfizer on a
novel vaccine, reiterated it aimed to file for emergency
authorization or approval as early as October, if ongoing trials
succeed.
   (Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Greece asked the
EU to hold an emergency meeting of the group's foreign ministers to
press for sanctions against Turkey amid a new and dangerous tussle
with its regional foe over energy and sea rights in the eastern
Mediterranean.
   (The Telegraph, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Hong Kong
supporters of the Apple Daily newspaper lined up to buy an expanded
print run in a bid to help the paper survive, a day after police
raided its headquarters and detained up to ten people including
founder Jimmy Lai.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, India reported
53,601 new cases of the coronavirus as its total neared 2.3 million.
871 new deaths were reported raising total fatalities to 45,257.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Iran's judiciary
reported that two Iranians have been sentenced to 10-year prison
terms on charges of spying for Israel, Germany and Britain. They
were identified as Masoud Mosaheb, the co-chairman of the
Iran-Austrian Friendship Society, and Shahram Shirkhani.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Nasrin Sotoudeh
(57), prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, began a hunger strike
seeking better prison conditions and the release of political
prisoners amid the pandemic. Sotoudeh, a mother of two, was arrested
in 2018 on charges of collusion and propaganda against the system
and eventually was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Iraq's military
said a Turkish drone strike killed two senior Iraqi security
officials north of Irbil, marking the first time that Turkey's
operation to root out Kurdish rebels in Iraq's north produced
fatalities among high-ranking Iraqi personnel.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Italy's new cases
of the coronavirus increased by 412. Sicily reported 89 cases after
64 migrants tested positive at a screening center.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Lebanon's health
ministry said 307 more people tested positive raising total
registered cases to 7,121. Seven new deaths raised that total to 87.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In Mexico at least
13 people died when a bus overturned on a highway outside Mexico
City.
   (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In Mozambique
insurgents took the port of Mocimoa da Praia.
   (Econ., 8/29/20, p.32)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, New Zealand PM
Jacinda Ardern announced that she had ordered a new lockdown after
the confirmation of four new COVID-19 cases, the country's first in
102 days.
   (The Week, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Dozens of
Palestinians protested outside the German diplomatic office in the
West Bank, seeking to draw attention to Israel's arrest of a leading
coordinator of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel.
Mahmoud Nawajaa was arrested on July 30 and remains in Israeli
custody. He has not been charged.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Russia claimed it
has developed the world's first vaccine offering "sustainable
immunity" against the coronavirus, as the pandemic marked another
bleak milestone with 20 million infections globally. The new vaccine
was dubbed "Sputnik V" after the Soviet satellite. Scientists in
Russia and other countries warned that Russia's claim to have
registered the first coronavirus vaccine was not the breakthrough
that President Vladimir Putin claimed. They noted that the vaccine
had not gone through final-stage, Phase 3 trials, which are expected
to take months and are the only way to be sure an experimental drug
is safe and effective.
   (AP, 8/11/20)(The Week, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, South Korea's
Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it received Indian regulatory
approval to test its anti-parasitic niclosamide drug to treat
COVID-19 patients in an early-stage human trial.
   (Reuters, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Spain’s ministry
reported 805 people nationwide hospitalized with the coronavirus
over the past seven days. Half of the 64 people who died over the
previous week were from Aragón, the region surrounding Zaragoza.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Sudanese
authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew in the eastern city of
Port Sudan after tribal clashes earlier this week killed more than a
dozen people and wounded more than 40 others.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
 2020      Aug 11, A report by
the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the
World Food Program would be sending 50,000 tons of wheat flour to
Beirut to stabilize Lebanon's wheat supply.
   (Reuters, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, The UN reported
that more than 70 people were killed and dozens injured during
weekend clashes between South Sudan’s army and armed civilians in
north-central Tonj.
   (AP, 8/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, The FBI arrested
Aníbal Jover, the former president of Puerto Rico’s Association of
Certified Public Accountants. He became the seventh person arrested
in connection with an ongoing federal fraud probe involving Puerto
Rico's former education secretary Julia Keleher.
   (NBC News, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, UNICEF USA
announced its first major program supporting children in the United
States. The agency will be investing $1 million this year on an
initiative to help US cities become more child-friendly.
   (AP, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, In southern
California a fire broke out in dense forest land north of Los
Angeles. About 100 rural homes were evacuated in the Lake Hughes
area of the Angeles National Forest.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, California to
date had 590,606 cases of coronavirus and 10,736 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 66,482 cases and 940 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,191,689 with the death toll at 165,909.
   (sfist.com, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, The Philadelphia
Inquirer reported that understaffing and inadequate supervision of
staff and patients plagued campuses of the nonprofit Devereux
Advanced Behavioral Health organization, where at least 41
intellectually disabled children have reported sexual assaults over
the past quarter-century.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, West Virginia Gov.
Jim Justice halted visits to nursing homes and said that virus
outbreaks were currently at 28 nursing homes statewide.
   (SFC, 8/13/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Hundreds of women
rallied across Belarus’ capital to protest a brutal police crackdown
that left hundreds injured and thousands detained while challenging
election results extending the 26-year rule of the country’s
authoritarian leader. More than 300 CEOs of IT companies and
investors signed a letter demanding a new election as well as an end
to state-sponsored violence. Otherwise, they claimed, they'll head
elsewhere.
   (AP, 8/12/20)(The Week, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Britain reported a
total of 1,009 new cases of COVID-19, taking the cumulative number
of cases in the country to 313,798.
   (Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Germany's leading
infectious disease institute said a first vaccine against the
coronavirus could be available as early as autumn but warned that it
may take longer to control the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Germany recorded
the biggest daily increase in new coronavirus cases in more than
three months, with the health minister warning of outbreaks in
nearly all parts of the country due to holiday returnees and
party-goers. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 1,226
to 218,519. Deaths remained relatively low, edging up by six to a
total of 9,207.
   (Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Greek and Turkish
frigates collided in the eastern Mediterranean raising tensions
between the two countries over disputed waters.
   (Econ., 8/22/20, p.49)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Greece announced
262 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily number since the
outbreak began. Total confirmed cases reached 6,177 with 216 deaths.
   (SFC, 8/13/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, In southern India
at least three people were killed in Bengaluru when police clashed
with hundreds of Muslims during a protest over a Facebook post
considered offensive to Islam. The person responsible for the post
was arrested and a law prohibiting gatherings was imposed on the
city.
   (SFC, 8/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Indonesia's
capital Jakarta extended its social restrictions to stem surging
coronavirus transmission as the country reported 2,098 new cases.
Indonesia has reported 132,816 coronavirus infections and 5,968
deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Israel said it
foiled a cyberattack targeting its defense industry by the Lazarus
Group, a shadowy entity that the US has linked to North Korea.
   (AP, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Mauritius PM
Pravind Jugnauth said authorities have finished pumping out the fuel
oil from the Japanese-owned ship that has caused a huge oil spill
off the island's coast. The fuel was transferred to shore by
helicopter and to another ship owned by Nagashiki Shipping.
   (BBC, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, It was reported
that a court in Nigeria has fined three men $52,000 (£40,000) each
for hijacking a ship in March and securing a ransom of $200,000 for
the release of its crew.
   (BBC, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Police in North
Macedonia discovered 148 migrants crammed into trucks in two
separate operations. Two men have been arrested.
   (SFC, 8/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, In Scotland a
driver was among 3 people killed this morning when a ScotRail train
derailed in Aberdeenshire. An investigation later revealed that the
train had struck a pile of washed-out rock and gravel before
derailing.
   (AP, 8/12/20)(SFC, 9/11/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Sudan's PM Abdalla
Hamdok said that troops have been deployed to Port Sudan to help
contain fighting that over the past three days has left at least 25
people dead and scores more wounded. The fighting erupted earlier
this week between the Beni Amer tribe and the displaced Nuba tribe.
   (AP, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Ukraine recorded a
record daily jump of 1,592 coronavirus cases. The total number of
cases rose to 86,140, including 1,992 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, A Zimbabwean
magistrate ordered prison authorities to unchain journalist Hopewell
Chin’ono, accused of mobilizing anti-government protests, but then
ruled that his testimony of poor prison conditions must be heard in
private.
   (AP, 8/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, President Donald
Trump said his team was rejecting Democrats' bid to include funds
for the US Postal Service and to shore up election infrastructure in
a new coronavirus relief bill, as he vowed to block money to
facilitate mail-in voting. Trump acknowledged that his position
would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process
an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)(AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, President Donald
Trump, PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the
United Arab Emirates, agreed to the full normalization of relations
between Israel and the UAE. The Abraham accords required Israel to
halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by
the Palestinians.
   (AP, 8/13/20)(Econ., 10/31/20, p.23)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, President Donald
Trump gave credence to a false and racist conspiracy theory about
Kamala Harris’ eligibility to be vice president, fueling an online
misinformation campaign that parallels the one he used to power his
rise into politics.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The Trump
administration formally weakened a major climate change regulation,
effectively freeing oil and gas companies from the need to detect
and repair methane leaks.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The US Justice
Department accused Yale University of violating federal civil rights
law by discriminating against Asian-American and white applicants.
   (NY Times, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, US federal law
enforcement officials said that they had conducted the “largest-ever
seizure of cryptocurrency” connected to terrorism. Three forfeiture
complaints involved the Al-Qassam Brigades, better known as the
military wing of Hamas, in addition to al-Qaeda and ISIS.
   (NBC News, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, A federal appeals
court in New Orleans upheld the constitutionality of the all-male
military draft system, citing a 1981 US Supreme Court decision.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, It was reported
that the US has seized the cargo of four vessels, called Luna,
Pandi, Bering and Bella, on the high seas in recent days and that
they are now en route to Houston. US prosecutors filed a lawsuit
last month to seize the gasoline aboard the four tankers that Iran
is trying to ship to Venezuela.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)(SFC, 8/14/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, A US-based
think-tank said satellite imagery suggests recent flooding in North
Korea may have damaged pump houses connected to the country's main
nuclear facility.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The US Supreme
Court left in place a lower-court ruling that relaxes voting
restrictions in Rhode Island during the coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Michael Cohen,
Pres. Trump's one-time lawyer and fixer, released the foreward of
his upcoming jailhouse tell-all in which he promised stories
involving the president. The memoir will be titled: "Disloyal: The
True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J.
Trump." The governemnt has tried to stop the publication. It was set
for release on Sept. 8.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A5)(SSFC, 9/6/20, p.A9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Steven Donziger,
the American lawyer who spent more than two decades suing Chevron
Corp over pollution in the Ecuadorian rain forest, was disbarred in
New York by a state appeals court. Nine years ago, Donziger had won
a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an Ecuador court, but was
unable to enforce it after a US judge found it had been obtained
through fraud.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, California to
date had 601,975 cases of coronavirus and 10,981 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 67,778 cases and 947 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,244,238 with the death toll at 167,029.
   (sfist.com, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Georgia's state
Gov. Brian kemp said he's dropping a lawsuit against the city of
Atlanta in a dispute over the city's requirement to wear marks in
public and other restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Nevada recorded
602 new cases of the coronavirus to bring its total to 58,650. The
death toll grew 34 to 1,030.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, In Portland,
Oregon, a crowd of several hundred anti-racism protesters, some of
whom had set a fire and launched fireworks around the US courthouse,
mostly dispersed early today after police declared the gathering a
riot and fired tear gas at them.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Maryland-based
Novavax Inc said South Korea's SK bioscience would manufacture a
component of the US drug developer's experimental coronavirus
vaccine in a bid to boost its supply.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Dallas resident
Collin Garrett Hayden (28), a male stripper accused of drug-dealing
and being a white supremacist, was sentenced to 200 months in
federal prison.
   (Miami Herald, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Crowds of
protesters in Belarus swarmed the streets and thousands of workers
rallied outside industrial plants to denounce a police crackdown on
demonstrations over a disputed election that extended the 26-year
rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Nearly 7,000
people have been detained and hundreds injured in a harsh clampdown
by police on demonstrators protesting the official results.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, It was reported
that at least 782 American guns have been discovered by British
police since 2017.
   (NY Times, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The Chinese city
of Shenzhen's government identified a Brazilian meat plant owned by
Aurora, the country's third largest processor of chicken and pork,
as the source of chicken wings that tested positive for the novel
coronavirus. Authorities in the Chinese city of Xian separately
reported that the outer packaging of shrimp imported from Ecuador
also tested positive for the coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, ShanghaiPRIDE, one
of China's longest running gay pride groups, said it was cancelling
all activities and events for the foreseeable future, citing the
need to protect the "safety" of its people and prompting a chorus of
regret on social media.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Researchers said a
coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by a unit of China National
Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) appeared to be safe and triggered
antibody-based immune responses in early and mid-stage trials.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, China reported 30
new coronavirus cases on the mainland, up from 19 on the previous
day. China's total number of cases now stands at 84,786. The
official death toll is unchanged at 4,634.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, In Egypt Essam
el-Erian (66), senior leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood
group, died of a heart attack in a Cairo prison where he had been
serving a 25-year sentence.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, German biotech
firm CureVac BV raised $213.3 million in its initial public offering
in New York, setting the stage for the first stock market debut of a
company developing a potential vaccine to combat the coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Greek authorities
quarantined the country's third largest migrant camp on the Aegean
Sea island of Chios until August 25 after an asylum-seeker and a
staff member were diagnosed with COVID-19.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Iran recorded 174
deaths from coronavirus and 2,625 new cases to take its death toll
to more than 19,000 and total cases to 336,324.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Israel's Defense
Ministry said it has conducted a successful test of the Arrow-2
interceptor, the country’s advanced missile defense system against
long-range ballistic attacks.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The Israeli
military struck Hamas militant sites in the Gaza Strip early today
in response to continued launches of explosives-laden balloons from
the Palestinian territory into Israel.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Israel charged
five members of its border security force with stealing from
Palestinians who were crossing illegally into Israel from the West
Bank.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Israel's largest
medical center said a newly developed saliva test aims to determine
in less than a second whether or not you are infected with the novel
coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, In the Ivory Coast
opposition and civil society groups demonstrated in Abidjan against
Pres. Alassane Ouattara's decision to run for a third term in
October.
   (SFC, 8/14/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Lithuania
designated the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group as a terrorist
organization and issued a 10-year ban on all individuals related to
the Iran-backed group from entering the Baltic nation’s territory.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Mozambique said
its troops are fighting to regain control of the key port of
Mocimboa da Praia, following multiple reports that it had fallen to
Islamist militants a day earlier. Dozens of soldiers were reported
killed, and a patrol boat sunk. The army said it has killed about 60
militants.
   (BBC, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, South Korea
confirmed plans to start building its first aircraft carrier next
year as tensions grow in the Indo-Pacific region between the US and
China and the question of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions remains
unresolved.
   (The Telegraph, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Spain now leads
Europe with 44,400 new coronavirus cases confirmed over the past 14
days. New daily cases reached nearly 3,000.
   (AP, 8/13/20)(SFC, 8/14/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Spain's regional
government of Andalusia said 12 out of 19 people suffering from
meningitis in the southern province of Seville have tested positive
for Nile fever, with the remaining seven samples still pending
results. Greece has reported 10 cases of Nile fever and one death so
far this summer.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, The UN reported
that at least eight children under the age of five have died in
recent days from health problems linked to the dire conditions in a
camp in northern Syria housing tens of thousands of female
supporters of the Islamic State group and their children.
   (AP, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, It was reported
that an oil spill in Venezuela has coated a stretch of the country's
Caribbean coastline. Fishermen and locals living around Morrocoy
National Park began reporting oil washing ashore last week.
   (SFC, 8/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Vietnam's health
ministry reported 25 more coronavirus infections and three
additional deaths, bringing the total number of cases in the
Southeast Asian country to 905, with 20 fatalities.
   (Reuters, 8/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, President Trump,
via executive order, officially called on Chinese company ByteDance
to divest itself of the US operations of the popular video-sharing
app, TikTok. The president's order allows 90 days for the
transaction to be completed.
   (The Week, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The US Government
Accountability Office (GAO) said that the appointments of two top
homeland security officials in the administration of President
Donald Trump did not follow processes outlined in federal law. The
GAO referred the issue to the inspector general for the US
Department of Homeland Security.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, US authorities
gave wildlife managers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho permission to
start killing hundreds of sea lions in the Columbia River basin in
hopes of helping struggling salmon and steelhead trout.
   (AP, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Prosecutors said
radical Islamic cleric Abdullah al-Faisal (56) has been extradited
from Jamaica to New York City on charges he recruited followers and
fighters for the Islamic State through fiery online lectures and
militant propaganda.
   (AP, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The 300,000-member
National Association of Letter Carriers said that the union's
executive council had endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president,
warning "the very survival" of the US Postal Service is at stake.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Dr. Scott Atlas, a
frequent guest on Fox News Channel, said he has joined the White
House as a pandemic adviser. Atlas, the former chief of
neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a fellow at
Stanford's conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in
public health or infectious diseases.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y2xsf2r6)(AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Former CIA officer
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma (67) was arrested for allegedly conspiring
with a relative, also a former CIA officer, to provide classified
information to Beijing. Both had top secret clearance while working
for the US government and multiple Chinese intelligence officials.
The co-conspirator, now 85, is also a naturalized US citizen who was
born in Shanghai.
   (The Telegraph, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Arizona's greater
Phoenix's J.O. Combs Unified School District, that ignored state
safety guidelines and voted to begin in-person learning on Aug. 17,
canceled classes after staff said it was unsafe to return and called
in sick.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, A three-judge
panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals threw out California's
ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates
the US Constitution's protection of the right to bear firearms. A
stay issued by a lower court judge remained in place.
   (AP, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, California
electrical providers instituted rolling blackouts late today for the
first time since 2001 amid a potentially record-breaking heat wave
that is expected to affect many states in the West through August
20.
   (The Week, 8/15/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, California to
date had 604,609 cases of coronavirus and 11,028 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 69,503 cases and 958 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,289,323 with the death toll at 167,948.
   (sfist.com, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The Florida High
School Athletics Association voted to begin sports throughout in the
Sunshine State on Aug. 24.
   (Good Morning America, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Florida reported
more than 6,200 new coronavirus cases and 200 deaths.
   (SFC, 8/15/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Former Illinois
Gov. James R. Thompson (84), known as “Big Jim” during a long career
(1976-1991), died. He was the state's longest-serving chief
executive.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, New Jersey Gov.
Phil Murphy said NJ will mail a ballot to every voter in the state
for November's elections, as well as hold in-person voting amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In Angola José
Filomeno dos Santos (42), son of former president José Eduardo dos
Santos, was jailed for five years for fraud from when he was head of
the oil-rich country's Sovereign Wealth Fund.
   (BBC, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Authorities in
Belarus freed at least 2,000 of about 7,000 people who had been
pulled off the streets by riot police in the days following a
disputed election. Graphic descriptions of savage beatings and other
abuse by police brought tens of thousands into the streets of Minsk
in the biggest challenge in his tenure.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Britain extended
lockdown restrictions on regions of northwest England, saying there
was no evidence that the COVID-19 infection rate in the area had
fallen.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Julian Bream
(b.1933), British champion of the classical guitar and lute, died in
England.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Bream)(Econ., 8/22/20, p.74)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The head of
China's banking and insurance regulator said China's peer-to-peer
(P2P) online lending platforms still have more than 800 billion yuan
($115 billion) unpaid to investors and their numbers have shrunk to
just 29 across the country.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, It was reported
that the EU has agreed to buy at least 300 million doses of
AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine in its first such advance
purchase deal, which could weaken plans led by the World Health
Organization (WHO) for a global approach.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, India reported
1,007 coronavirus deaths bringing tis total to 48,040. Confirmed
cases rose by 64,553.
   (SFC, 8/15/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Israeli aircraft
and tanks hit several militant sites in the Gaza Strip late today,
responding to explosive-laden incendiary balloons launched across
the frontier into Israeli territory.
   (AP, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, It was reported
that cases of the coronavirus have quadrupled in the past month in
Madagascar, with more than 13,000 infections and 162 deaths, which
has spread to all but one of its 22 regions. President Andry
Rajoelina continued to stand by an herbal concoction called
Covid-Organics, which was launched to great fanfare in April.
   (BBC, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In Nepal a
landslide buried dozens of homes killing 11 people in the village of
Lidi near the border with China.
   (SFC, 8/15/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In the Netherlands
rioters clashed overnight with police during a 2nd night of unrest
in a low-income neighborhood of The Hague after authorities acted to
stop residents from opening fire hydrants to cool off amid a
weeklong heat wave.
   (SFC, 8/15/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, North Korea said
it had lifted a three-week lockdown that was imposed on a border
city after a defector believed to be carrying the coronavirus
sneaked back into the country.
   (AFP, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Palestinians
across Gaza and the occupied West Bank rallied against an agreement
brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel and the UAE announced
a day earlier that they will normalize diplomatic ties.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The Philippines
imposed a temporary ban on poultry meat imports from Brazil after
two cities in China found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes
of imported frozen food, including chicken wings from the South
American country.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, More than a
quarter of South Korea’s medical clinics closed for a one-day strike
in protest at government plans to train new doctors, as the country
reported the highest number of domestic coronavirus cases since the
end of March.
   (Reuters, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, It was reported
that Spanish police in Catalonia have broken up a gang of poachers
believed to have captured 10,000 protected finches in two years,
amassing an estimated €150,000 by illegally selling the animals as
caged songbirds.
   (The Telegraph, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The UN Security
Council voted to reject the United States' effort to extend a global
arms embargo on Iran.
   (The Week, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, The UN launched an
appeal to raise $565 million to help Lebanon recover from this
month's devastating port blast that killed 171 people.
   (AFP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Zimbabwe's Roman
Catholic bishops issued a letter highlighting corruption, poverty
and human rights abuses and called for an urgent resolution to the
country's economic and political challenges. The government
dismissed the charges.
   (BBC, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo sealed a defense cooperation deal with Polish
officials that will pave the way to redeploy American troops from
Germany to Poland.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The US Food and
Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the
SalivaDirect COVID-19 diagnostic test developed by the Yale School
of Public Health in partnership with the National Basketball
Association.
   (The Week, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The US Food and
Drug Administration approved Roche's Enspryng for the central
nervous system disorder neuromyelitis optica, putting the Swiss
drugmaker head-to-head with Alexion's Soliris in a costly treatment
area.
   (Reuters, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, In California the
explosive Loyalton Fire north of Lake Tahoe has burned through about
20,000 acres and is only 5 percent contained. It formed into a rare
phenomenon known as a fire tornado, which the National Weather
Service called "extremely dangerous fire behavior."
   (The Week, 8/16/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, California to
date had 619,243 cases of coronavirus and 11,217 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 70,556 cases and 964 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,357,396 with the death toll at 169,432.
   (sfist.com, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, In Chicago a
downtown march began peacefully, but a separate demonstration broke
off resulting in two dozen arrests, 17 injured police officers and
at least two injured protesters.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, In Michigan two
men and two women were found dead from gunshot wounds in a house in
Sumpter Township, a Wayne County suburb of Detroit. Suspect Raymond
Lee Bailey (37) turned himself in the next day.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, A Nebraska school
district said it had canceled classes after staff members tested
positive for the new coronavirus, the latest state to see
instruction disrupted after resuming in-person learning.
   (Reuters, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said New York had its lowest number of COVID-19
hospitalizations since March 17. He confirmed 734 additional cases
of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 424,901
confirmed cases in New York State, with the highest concentration in
New York City. Five deaths a day earlier brought that total to
25,244.
   (Good Morning America, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Police in
Portland, Oregon, arrested four people overnight and dispersed a
protest that was heading toward the offices of the police union.
   (SSFC, 8/16/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Algeria started
reopening its mosques, cafes, beaches and parks for the first time
in five months. The country has reported more than 37,000 infections
and 1,350 deaths.
   (SSFC, 8/16/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that prosecutors in Angola have ordered the closure of places of
worship belonging to one of Brazil's biggest churches, the Universal
Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), accusing it of corruption.
   (BBC, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Australia's
Victoria state reported 4 more deaths COVID-19 deaths and 303 newly
confirmed cases over the last 24 hours in a positive trend downward.
   (SSFC, 8/16/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Belarus' embattled
President Alexander Lukashenko appealed to his long-time ally
Russian President Vladimir Putin as protesters continue to call for
his resignation following his recent disputed election victory,
which the opposition alleges he rigged. Thousands of demonstrators
in Belarus gathered at the spot in the capital where a protester
died in clashes with police, calling for authoritarian Lukashenko to
resign after 26 years in power.
   (The Week, 8/15/20)(AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Thousands of
British tourists beat a hasty retreat from France, packing out
planes, trains and ferries to return to the UK by the early hours of
this morning to avoid a mandatory 14-day quarantine at home.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that workers in the Chinese town of Pyawbwe earn about $1.20 a day
untangling hair from Bangladesh and India.
   (Econ., 8/15/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, In Colombia eight
people, all aged between 17 and 26, were killed in a massacre at a
barbecue in the small town of Samaniego late today. Two other
killings in Nariño province in the past seven days left at least
four others dead. Colombia has seen 33 massacres this year and 45
human rights defenders have been killed in the same period.
   (The Guardian, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that the Greek government has secretly expelled more than 1,000
refugees from Europe’s borders in recent months, sailing many of
them to the edge of Greek territorial waters and then abandoning
them in inflatable and sometimes overburdened life rafts.
   (NY Times, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The prime
ministers of India and Nepal spoke over the phone to try to ease
bilateral tensions that have existed since a border dispute erupted
between the two countries in May.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that 16,347 migrants reached Italian shores in small boats without
help over the last year, while 5,271 were rescued at sea, most of
those by charity boats.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, North Macedonia
police found 80 migrants during a routine check in the central part
of the country and arrested a truck driver for suspected migrant
smuggling.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Officials said
grounded Japanese ship that leaked tons of oil near protected areas
off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius has split apart,
with remaining fuel spreading into the turquoise waters.
   (AP, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The head of
Mexico's National Immigration Institute said more than 1,040
immigration officers have been referred to the internal affairs
office or forced to quit after they were caught demanding bribes and
other acts of corruption.
   (SSFC, 8/16/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that nearly 1,500 acres of rice fields in North Korea were flooded
and about 730 singe-story homes and 179 housing blocks destroyed as
of early August. This has prompted leader Kim Jong Un to tap into
his private grain reserves to feed victims.
   (Business Insider, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The Philippine
health ministry reported 4,351 new confirmed coronavirus cases and
159 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to
157,918 infections and 2,600 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Russia's health
ministry reported the production start of the first batch of its new
vaccine for COVID-19. Russian pharmaceutical company Petrovax
confirmed it was running a trial for a COVID-19 candidate vaccine
from China-based CanSino Biologics Inc.
   (Reuters, 8/15/20)(Reuters, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, South Korea
reported 166 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest daily
jump in five months.
   (SSFC, 8/16/20, p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Turkey's
coronavirus count rose to its highest daily level since June, with
total deaths nearing 6,000. There were 1,256 new cases and 21 deaths
in the last 24 hours, pushing total cases above 278,000.
   (Reuters, 8/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Congressional
Democrats called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a donor to
Republican President Donald Trump, and US Postal Service Chairman
Robert Duncan to testify in an Aug. 24 committee hearing.
   (Reuters, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, More than 100
demonstrators converged outside the North Carolina mansion of
postmaster general Louis DeJoy, protesting the cutbacks, delays and
other changes to the USPS that have created fears for mail-in voting
ahead of the November presidential election.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, California to
date had 624,007 cases of coronavirus and 11,243 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 71,869 cases and 970 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,401,167 with the death toll at 170,019.
   (sfist.com, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, A monitoring
station in Death Valley measured a temperature of 54.4 degrees (130
degrees F).
   (Econ., 8/29/20, p.17)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, In Ohio at least
18 people were shot, including four killed, as gunfire erupted in
several places around Cincinnati overnight.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, A riot was
declared in Portland, Oregon, as protesters demonstrated outside a
law enforcement building early today, continuing a nightly ritual in
the city.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, In Belarus
thousands of people gathered in a square near the main government
building for a rally to support President Alexander Lukashenko.
Opposition supporters whose protests have convulsed the country for
a week held a major march in Minsk.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, China's health
authority said new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 fell to a
one-month low as a cluster in the western region of Xinjiang
receded. Mainland China had 84,827 confirmed coronavirus cases, with
the death toll unchanged at 4,634.
   (Reuters, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Luis Rodolfo
Abinader (53) was sworn in as president of the Dominican Republic.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, India reported 944
new coronavirus deaths pushing total fatalities to near 50,000.
   (SFC, 8/17/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu said that a deal to establish full diplomatic
ties with the UAE proves that Israel doesn't need to retreat from
occupied land sought by the Palestinians in order to achieve peace
and normalization with Arab states. Telephone service between Israel
and the United Arab Emirates began working.
   (AP, 8/16/20)(The Week, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Israel closed the
Gaza Strip's offshore fishing zone following a night of cross-border
fighting with Palestinian militants, the most intense escalation of
hostilities in recent months.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Lebanon registered
439 new virus cases and six fatalities. The new infections bring to
8,881 the total number of cases, where COVID-19 has killed some 103
people. An August 4 explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium
nitrate killed around 180 people and left a quarter of a million
with homes unfit to live in.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, New Zealand
reported 13 new infections, bringing the country's number of active
cases up to 69. Most of the cases were from community transmission
and are linked to a cluster in Auckland, which is under a new
lockdown.
   (The Week, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Thousands of
Puerto Ricans got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week
after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a
blow to the US territory’s democracy. Gov. Wanda Vázquez
acknowledged losing the primary of her pro-statehood party to Pedro
Pierluisi, who briefly served as the US territory's governor last
year amid political turmoil.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, The Kremlin said
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Belarusian counterpart
Alexander Lukashenko that Moscow was ready to offer Minsk military
assistance if necessary to quell anti-government protests in
Belarus.
   (The Week, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Somali special
forces ended a siege at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that was
stormed by armed al-Shabab militants. At least 12 people were killed
at the beachside Elite Hotel, in addition to five militants.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, South Korea
reported 279 new confirmed infections, the highest 24-hour jump
since early March.
   (The Week, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Authorities said
flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan for weeks, leaving at
least 60 people dead and destroying thousands of homes since late
July. More than 185,000 people in all but one of its 18 provinces
have been affected by the heavy rainfall and flooding.
   (AP, 8/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, In Thailand
thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Bangkok for a
rally that suggested their movement's strength may have extended
beyond the college campuses where it has blossomed.
   (AP, 8/16/20)(SFC, 8/17/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, President Donald
Trump denied trying to undermine the Postal Service's ability to
handle a flood of mail-in ballots ahead of the November US election,
as Democrats prepared to move against changes his administration has
set in motion.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The Trump
administration issued final approval to allow oil and gas drilling
in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a 19 million acre (7.7
million hectares) refuge that has been off-limits to drilling for
decades.
   (Reuters, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The US Department
of Commerce (DOC) prohibited anyone from selling chips to China's
Huawei telecoms company, if they were produced with American
technology. The new rule took effect on August 20.
   (Econ., 8/22/20, p.54)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, US Democrats
opened their presidential nominating convention with a virtual
program that spanned the ideological gamut, featuring speeches from
the left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders and two former Republican
governors. Michelle Obama delivered a passionate condemnation of
President Donald Trump during the opening night of the Democratic
National Convention, declaring him “in over his head” and warning
that the nation's mounting crises would only get worse if he's
reelected over Joe Biden.
   (NY Times, 8/18/20)(AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, A federal judge
blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new regulation
that would roll back health care protections for transgender people.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, It was reported
that US intelligence has assessed that Iran paid the bounties to the
Haqqani network, for the Bagram attack on 11 December, which killed
two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including two
Americans.
   (The Guardian, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Amer Fakhoury
(57), an American who was jailed for months in Lebanon and later
released over decades-old murder and torture charges that he denied,
died in Boston.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, FBI agents
arrested Puerto Rico Rep. María Milagros Charbonier, one of Puerto
Rico's most conservative and religious legislators, and three other
people. No further details were immediately available.
   (NBC News, 8/17/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, California to
date had 632,929 cases of coronavirus and 11,331 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 72,833 cases and 975 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,435,908 with the death toll at 170,453.
   (sfist.com, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The Univ. of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill became the first big university to move
in-person classes online after new coronavirus outbreaks. Just one
week into the semester, 177 students had tested positive, and
hundreds of others were in quarantine because of possible exposure.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, In Texas Fort Hood
Sgt. Elder Fernandes was last seen when his staff sergeant dropped
him off at his home in Killeen. He was the 3rd Fort Hood soldier to
go missing this year. His body was found on August 25 near railroad
tracks in Temple.
   (SSFC, 8/23/20, p.A7)(NBC News, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, US drug developer
Novavax Inc said that it is starting a mid-stage study of its
experimental COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, as the country
experiences a surge in coronavirus cases. South Africa is fifth
worst affected country with 583,653 coronavirus cases and 11,677
deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Belarusian leader
Alexander Lukashenko warned protesters that he will not give in to
their demands for a new presidential election—unless they
assassinate him. Workers heckled and jeered Lukashenko as he visited
a factory and strikes grew across Belarus, raising the pressure on
the authoritarian leader to step down after 26 years in power.
   (The Daily Beast, 8/17/20)(AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The Central Party
School in Beijing, where Cai Xia (67) taught for 15 years until
2012, announced that she had been expelled from the Communist Party
after she denounced both the party and Xi in recent speeches and
essays. She had described Mr. Xi's scrapping of the two-term limit
as something the Central Committee had been forced to swallow. She
moved to the US last year.
   (NY Times, 8/18/20)(Econ., 10/31/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, It was reported
that prosecutors in El Salvador have filed charges of bribery, money
laundering and criminal conspiracy against ex-Pres. Mauricio Funes
(2009-2014), who has fled to Nicaragua.
   (SFC, 8/17/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, France-based
Sanofi's said is buying US-based Principia Biopharma Inc $3.7
billion. The acquisition gives Sanofi Principia's pipeline in
autoimmune diseases.
   (Reuters, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Iran seized a
United Arab Emirates vessel and summoned the UAE envoy after two of
its fishermen were shot dead in an incident in the Gulf.
   (AFP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Israeli security
guards shot and wounded a Palestinian (60) who is deaf and couldn't
hear their commands to stop at a West Bank checkpoint.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The head of
Lebanon's customs authority was formally arrested after being
questioned over the massive explosion in Beirut earlier this month,
the state-run National News Agency reported.
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, A Taliban
spokesman said a militant faction in Pakistan that split years ago
from the Pakistani Taliban has returned and rejoined the insurgents.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, was formed in 2014 by Umar Khalid Khurasani when it
split from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
   (AP, 8/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Syrian media said
US forces clashed with Syrian troops in the northeast, killing at
least one Syrian soldier and wounding two others. Americans “came
under small arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of a
checkpoint” and returned fire in self-defense. In 2022 Sgt. 1st
Class Robert Nicoson, a paratrooper who was accused of leading a
patrol into an unnecessary gunfight before ordering troops to delete
videos of the incident, was acquitted of all charges.
   (AP, 8/17/20)(The Fayetteville Observer, 1/9/22)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, President Donald
Trump said that he will pardon Susan B. Anthony, a women's suffrage
leader arrested for voting in 1872 in violation of laws permitting
only men to vote.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, The Republican-led
Senate intelligence committee on the Russia investigation concluded
that Trump campaign's interactions with Russian intelligence
services during the 2016 presidential election posed a “grave”
counterintelligence threat as it detailed how associates of the
Republican candidate had regular contact with Russians and expected
to benefit from the Kremlin's help. Trump immediately denounced the
1,300-page report as “a hoax.”
   (AP, 8/18/20)(The Daily Beast, 10/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Several Democratic
state attorneys general said they will announce legal action against
President Donald Trump's administration over Postal Service changes
that may affect mail-in voting in the November US presidential
election.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Postmaster General
Louis DeJoy said that he would suspend cost-cutting measures and
operational changes at the Postal Service until after the November
election.
   (NY Times, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, On Wall Street the
S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high at 3389.78. The Nasdaq
composite index also made a record close at 11,210.84.
   (SFC, 8/19/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Democrats formally
nominated Joe Biden for the presidency on the second night of their
national convention, in a virtual roll call vote.
   (NY Times, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, The US government
sued Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, accusing
the firm of causing the submission of false claims to Medicare by
using kickbacks to boost sales of its multiple sclerosis drug
Copaxone.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, The United States
and Russia concluded two days of arms control talks with the two
sides still at odds over the US demand to include China in any new
treaty.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom
declared a state of emergency in response to wildfires in
California, as the state battled the effects of a sweltering heat
wave, rolling blackouts and the coronavirus pandemic.
   (NY Times, 8/19/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, California to
date had 636,833 cases of coronavirus and 11,390 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 74,020 cases and 987 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 5,480,487 with the death toll at 171,679.
   (sfist.com, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, An independent
inquiry reported that for-profit nursing homes in Connecticut had
significantly more cases and deaths from COVID-19 than non-profit
ones, shedding new light on the shortfalls of the state's pandemic
response.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, US prosecutors
alleged that New York attorney Jason Kurland (46), the self-dubbed
“Lottery Lawyer,” was actually stealing tens of millions of dollars
from his clients with the help of three other individuals—including
a mafia member—to fund their extravagant lifestyles. The indictment
charged Kurland with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y6bhxl7z)(SFC, 8/20/20,
p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Oregon
protesters lit fires, threw rocks and smashed windows at county
government offices in Portland, prompting police to declare a riot,
after weeks of mostly peaceful anti-racism demonstrations.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, South Dakota
transportation officials said that this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally drew more than 460,000 vehicles during the 10-day event. The
South Dakota Department of Health issued a warning that one person
who spent several hours at a bar on Main Street in Sturgis has
tested positive for COVID-19 and may have spread it to others. The
city plans to conduct mass COVID-19 testing in an effort to catch
outbreaks.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Vanda
Pharmaceuticals said COVID-19 patients with pneumonia improved
faster when treated with the company's experimental therapy than
those on placebo, citing an interim analysis of data from a
late-stage study.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Belarus more
factories joined a growing strike turning up pressure on Pres.
Alexander Lukashenko to resign.
   (SFC, 8/19/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Sinopharm chairman
Liu Jingzhen said a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by
the unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group could cost no more
than 1,000 yuan ($144.27) for two shots.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, It was reported
that Dubai again has loosened laws governing alcohol sales and
possession of liquor as the sheikhdom tries to claw its way out of
an economic depression worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, France's labor
ministry announced that face masks will be required in enclosed
shared office spaces starting Sept. 1, citing an "upsurge" in
COVID-19 cases.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Chancellor Angela
Merkel warned there could be no further relaxation of coronavirus
restrictions while the country grapples with a surge in new
infections. Germany has recorded a total of 225,404 coronavirus
cases and 9,236 fatalities.
   (AFP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, German authorities
arrested a Syrian national (Khaled A.) on suspicion he was a member
of two militant groups that fought against the government of
President Bashar Assad during the early stages of the conflict in
Syria.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Germany Sarmad
D., an Iraqi man (30), drove his car into motorcycles along a
stretch of Berlin highway. Six people were injured, three of them
severely in what officials soon called a terror attack.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Ireland's health
minister warned that the country is at a "tipping point" in the face
of rising coronavirus cases, as the cabinet reintroduced some
restrictions on public meetings.
   (The Telegraph, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, The Special
Tribunal for Lebanon based in the Hague found one of the four
members of the Iran-backed militia and political party Hezbollah
guilty of the 2005 car bomb assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri and 21 others. Only Salim Ayyash was found guilty of
assassination by truck bomb. The other defendants, Hussein Oneissi,
Assad Sabra, and Hassan Merhi were acquitted of a barrage of charges
including conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack and international
homicide with explosives. A fifth man, Mustafa Badreddine was killed
in Syria in 2016, after which charges against him were dropped.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Rumors of a coup
d'etat and of the arrest of Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
drew hundreds of anti-government protesters into the streets of the
capital, Bamako. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali resigned
after the country’s military mutinied, arresting him and other
government officials. The West African nation has been gripped by
unrest for weeks, driven by charges that Keïta stole an election in
March.
   (The Telegraph, 8/18/20)(NY Times, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Sunil Kumar
Nandeshwar, the Indian captain of a ship that spilled about 1,000
metric tons of oil into the Indian Ocean, endangering world-renowned
coral reefs and lagoons in Mauritius, was arrested alongside the
chief officer of the ship, Tilak Ratna Suboda, a Sri Lankan.
   (NY Times, 8/19/20)(SSFC, 8/23/20, p.B10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, The Norwegian
Refugee Council said that a record one million people are displaced
by violence in Burkina Faso amid the COVID-19 outbreak. More than
450,000 people were newly displaced in 2020, with 184 attacks
against civilians recorded according to new figures by the Burkinabe
Council for Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Oman's sultan
named foreign and finance ministers for the first time, putting
officials in positions long wielded by his late predecessor. Sultan
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said also issued 28 decrees renaming and
reorganizing ministries in a nation he took over in January.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, It was reported
that Pakistan's drug regulator has greenlit the country's first
Phase 3 clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine, which is
being developed by China's CanSino Biologics (CanSino) and Beijing
Institute of Biotechnology.
   (Reuters, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Gaza's sole power
plant shut down, leaving the territory's 2 million residents with
only around four hours of electricity a day after Israel cut off
fuel supplies in response to incendiary balloons launched by
Palestinian militants.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In the Philippines
a mild coronavirus lockdown was eased in Jakarta and four outlying
provinces to further reopen the country's battered economy. The
Philippines has reported more than 164,000 cases including 2,681
deaths.
   (SFC, 8/19/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Somalia two
soldiers were executed after being convicted of raping a 10-year-old
boy who died from the bleeding.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
 2020      Aug 18, South
Africans were again are allowed to buy alcohol and cigarettes as the
government relaxed lockdown restrictions introduced to curb the
spread of coronavirus.
   (BBC, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, A senior UN
official warned that war-torn Yemen is sliding toward famine as the
coronavirus spreads and its economy implodes — all amid a funding
crisis that is forcing the United Nations to make deeper aid cuts,
including stopping treatment for 250,000 severely malnourished
children.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, A Zimbabwean
magistrate barred Beatrice Mtetwa, a top human rights lawyer, from
representing jailed journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and ordered that
Mtetwa be prosecuted for comments she posted on a Facebook page run
by an American filmmaker.
   (AP, 8/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, It was reported
that Pres. Donald Trump's re-election campaign and Republican Party
groups are suing a third Iowa county, seeking to invalidate
thousands of absentee ballot request forms that have been returned
by voters.
   (SFC, 8/19/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, US Attorney
General William Barr announced that 1,485 people had been arrested
in Operation Legend, an initiative in which the Trump administration
sent more than 1,000 federal law enforcement officers to assist
local law enforcement agencies in nine cities with rising crime
rates.
   (The Week, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, A US government
directive was announced giving pharmacists in all states permission
to give childhood vaccinations.
   (SFC, 8/20/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Former FBI lawyer
Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering a document related to
the 2017 secret surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter
Page.
   (SFC, 8/20/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Senator Kamala
Harris of California accepted the nomination to be the Democratic
Party’s nominee for vice president, embracing the historic nature of
her candidacy and name-checking a lineage of trailblazing Black
women.
   (NY Times, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In California
thousands of people were under orders to evacuate in regions
surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area as nearly 40 wildfires blazed
across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week.
Smoke blanketed the city of San Francisco. Gov. Gavin Newsom said
that there were 367 wildfires burning in the state, many apparently
started by some 11,000 dry lightning strikes that recently hit
Northern and Central California. A pilot on a water dropping mission
in western Fresno County died this morning when his helicopter
crashed about an hour from New Coalinga Municipal Airport. A Pacific
Gas & Electric utility worker died while assisting first
responders at a fire in the Vacaville area.
   (AP, 8/19/20)(The Week, 8/20/20)(AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In California the
SQF Complex or Sequoia Complex, a complex of two lightning
wildfires, began burning in Sequoia National Forest and adjacent
areas. The fire continued to Jan. 5 and covered 174,178 acres. The
Castle Fire was later estimated to have killed between 7,500 and
10,600 mature sequoias. 10% to 14% of the total sequoia population
was lost.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQF_Complex)(SFC,
9/17/21, p.C4)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, California to
date had 641,838 cases of coronavirus and 11,558 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 75,273 cases and 1,005 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,523,826 with the death toll at 172,945.
   (sfist.com, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, It was reported
that Michigan will pay $600 million to compensate Flint residents
whose health was damaged by lead-tainted drinking water after the
city heeded state regulators’ advice not to treat it properly.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, It was reported
that the emergency approval of blood plasma as a potential COVID-19
treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration has now been put on
hold.
   (Reuters, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Johnson &
Johnson agreed to buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $6.5
billion to add muscle to its portfolio of drugs for hard-to-treat
autoimmune diseases.
   (Reuters, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Afghanistan
bomb attacks in Kabul and in the north killed at least five people
and wounded 15.
   (SFC, 8/20/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Belarusian
opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya urged EU leaders to reject
the results of the presidential election which sparked massive
protests and saw strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko claim a sixth
term.
   (The Telegraph, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In southern China
flooding and landslides from heavy seasonal rains and Typhoon Higos
left at least five people missing in Yunnan province.
   (SFC, 8/20/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, France's national
public health agency reported that there were 3,776 new cases in the
past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 225,043.
   (Good Morning America, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Germany's public
health institute reported that there were 1,510 new cases in the
past 24 hours, making the national total 226,914.
   (Good Morning America, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Honduras
supporters of opposition parties, Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH)
and Libertad y Refundacion (LIBRE), and of the Indignants Movement,
demonstrated on a bridge with a Honduran flag reading "Where is the
money" hanging from it, against the government of President Juan
Orlando Hernandez.
   (AFP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, India's health
ministry recorded 1,092 additional coronavirus-related deaths in the
past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide toll to 52,889. More than 2.7
million people in India have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the
pandemic began.
   (Good Morning America, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Iran surpassed
20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, the highest death toll
for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. Iran reported
over 350,200 confirmed cases, with 20,125 deaths.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, In Iraq activist
Reham Yacoub was gunned down in the southern province of Basra by
unidentified gunmen, marking the second such killing in the span of
a week.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, At least 45
migrants and refugees, including five children, died in a shipwreck
off the coast of Zwara, Libya. They were among more than 80 people
on board a vessel whose engine exploded.
   (BBC, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, The soldiers in
Mali who led the coup that has toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar
Keita promised to hold fresh elections to return the country to
civilian rule, amid swift condemnation of their putsch across Africa
and the international community. The soldiers identified themselves
as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, It was reported
that Emilio Lozoya, the former head of Mexico's state-owned oil
company, has directly accused former President Enrique Peña Nieto
and his treasury secretary of directing a scheme of kickbacks and
embezzlement directly from the president’s office. Lozoya himself
faced corruption charges.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un acknowledged the hardships faced by his
population during the first meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of
Korea’s central body in eight months.
   (The Telegraph, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Norway's Foreign
Ministry expelled a Russian diplomat linked to the case of a man
jailed on accusation of spying for Russia. The suspected spy was
arrested on Aug.15.
   (SFC, 8/20/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Hundreds of
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rallied against the US-brokered deal
to normalize ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, The Spanish
Ministry of Health reported that there were 3,715 new coronavirus
cases within the last day.
   (Good Morning America, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Sweden reported
that COVID-19 claimed about 4,500 lives in the period to the end of
June, a number which has now risen to 5,800.
   (Reuters, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, UAE authorities
said that its Barakah nuclear power plant has been connected to the
country's power grid.
   (AP, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, The United Arab
Emirates recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 infections in
over a month, a day after the health minister warned cases may rise.
The UAE saw 435 infections and one death in the past 24 hours. The
UAE has recorded 65,341 total infections and 367 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Pres. Donald Trump
praised adherents of the false conspiracy theory QAnon, which
alleges that the president is waging a covert war against a “deep
state” cabal of Satan-worshiping Democrats involved in pedophilia
and child sex trafficking. Facebook took its most sweeping actions
yet, removing nearly 800 QAnon-affiliated groups from its site and
restricting others.
   (NY Times, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, President Trump
vowed to send law enforcement to polling places during the 2020
presidential election as he continues to make baseless claims about
voter fraud and mail-in ballots.
   (The Week, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, The Trump
administration submitted a letter to the United Nations Security
Council accusing Iran of failing to comply with its 2015 nuclear
deal with world powers, and calling for restoring UN sanctions
against Tehran, including an arms embargo.
   (The Week, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, A US federal judge
ruled that Pres. Donald Trump cannot block a prosecutor's subpoena
for eight years of his tax returns. Trump quickly appealed the
decision and filed an emergency motion to delay turning over his tax
returns.
   (Reuters, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Former White House
adviser Steve Bannon was arrested on charges that he and three
others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme “We Build
The Wall.” Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others
“orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors”
in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more
than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the
United States. Bannon was arrested on a yacht owned by his friend
Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire, off Westbrook, Connecticut. Guo
by all accounts made his money in real estate and securities. He
portrays himself in interviews and court records as an exiled
whistleblower.
   (AP, 8/20/20)(NBC News, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, The Democratic
National Convention capped off four days of remote speeches, video
montages and roll-call votes with a final address from the party’s
presidential nominee, Joe Biden.
   (NY Times, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Seventy-three
former Republican national security officials released a letter
endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and calling
President Trump unfit for the White House.
   (The Week, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, It was reported
that at least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the US
Postal Service have arrived dead in recent weeks after rapid cuts
hit the federal mail carrier's operations.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In California
hundreds of wildfires fueled by strong winds, dry conditions and
lightning strikes have burned more than 300,000 acres across the
state. The death toll from the wildfires rose to at least five
   (AP, 8/20/20)(The Week, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, An appeals court
gave Uber and Lyft a last-minute reprieve from a California law
requiring them to reclassify their drivers in the state as employees
entitled to benefits.
   (The Week, 8/21/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, California to
date had 652,094 cases of coronavirus and 11,795 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 76,330 cases and 1,013 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,571,102 with the death toll at 174,178.
   (sfist.com, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In New Mexico a
mystery started with the discovery of a large number of dead birds
at the US Army White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National
Monument. Dead migratory birds were also being found in Colorado,
Texas and Mexico.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y5fgjb6w)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Airbnb, the
short-term home rental company said no more parties and events in
homes listed on its platform, as it tries to enforce strict
social-distancing norms to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, The Kansas City
Chiefs said that after speaking with "a group of local leaders from
diverse American Indian backgrounds and experiences," the team has
decided to prohibit fans from donning headdresses or Native
American-themed face paint at Arrowhead Stadium home games.
   (The Week, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Heron Systems, a
Maryland-based AI company, won the the final round in DARPA's
AlphaDogfight trials.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y2tjkhve)(Econ., 11/21/20,
p.71)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In Oregon about
100 people blocked traffic in Portland, vandalized an immigration
building, set fires to dumpsters, and threw rocks and glass bottles
at police late today. Police arrested three people.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, AMC, the largest
movie theater chain in the world, began reopening more than 100 of
its locations in the United States for the first time in more than
five months.
   (Good Morning America, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, American Airlines
Group Inc said it plans to suspend flights to 15 US airports in
October as travel demand remains low as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, It was reported
that hundreds of Belarus employees of state television have gone on
strike amid a rising tide of protests, calling for the resignation
of Pres. Lukashenko after a vote the opposition saw as rigged. The
state television workers were joined by journalists from the leading
daily Zvyazda, who put out a statement demanding an end to
censorship.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In London Hashem
Abedi, the brother of the suicide bomber who set off the May 17,
2017, explosion at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in Manchester,
England, was sentenced to a minimum of 55 years in prison.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, A new study
reported that the Greenland ice sheet lost a record amount of ice
during an extra warm 2019 and that the enormous ice melt could cover
California in more than 4 feet of water.
   (SFC, 8/21/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, India reported
69,652 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, its highest daily
increase yet. There were also an additional 977 coronavirus-related
fatalities recorded within the last day, bringing the national total
to 53,866.
   (SFC, 8/120/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In southern India
a large fire at a government-run hydroelectric plant killed 9
workers in Telangana state.
   (SFC, 8/22/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Iran unveiled two
missiles it said had a bigger range than before, naming them after
commanders killed in January by a US strike in Iraq.
   (AFP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In Iran the
Muharram ceremonies began bringing millions of Muslims together to
mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the prophet
Muhammad.
   (Econ., 8/22/20, p.40)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Human rights
monitors sounded the alarm over a recent spike in assassinations
targeting civil rights activists in Iraq's south.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Lebanon’s Health
Ministry tallied a record 605 confirmed new cases in the previous 24
hours, raising the total registered cases since late February to
10,952. The pandemic has killed 113 people in the country.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Moroccan law
enforcement stopped migrants from attempting to cross to the Spanish
enclave of Melilla. Around 300 migrants attempted to jump over a
series of fences. One African man died and 11 other people sustained
minor injuries.
   (AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Russian opposition
politician Alexei Navalny collapsed in an airplane bathroom.
Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, was in intensive
care at a Siberian hospital today after suffering symptoms of what
his spokeswoman called poisoning.
   (NY Times, 8/20/20)(AP, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Spain reported
3,349 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, down from
3,715 reported the previous day and bringing the cumulative total to
370,867. The health ministry said 122 people had died from the
coronavirus over the past seven days.
   (Reuters, 8/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Thailand police
arrested nine pro-democracy activists, including two rappers, in a
crackdown on growing protests calling for PM Prayuth Chan-ocha and
his administration to resign.
   (SFC, 8/21/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, The Trump
administration dismissed near universal opposition to its demand to
restore all UN sanctions on Iran, declaring that a 30-day countdown
for the “snapback” of penalties eased under the 2015 nuclear deal
had begun.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, US Postmaster
General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers that mail-in ballots in the Nov.
3 election would be delivered on time, despite concerns that
cost-cutting measures could result in widespread delays and millions
of uncounted ballots. DeJoy earlier this week suspended all mail
service changes until after the election, but said today he did not
plan on returning decommissioned sorting machines to service before
Nov. 3. The Postal Service had planned to remove 671 mail sorting
machines nationwide, including 502 delivery barcode sorting machines
capable of processing 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, by Sept. 30.
As of Aug. 16 it had already decommissioned 95% of its target.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, On Wall Street the
S&P 500 closed at 3397.16, another all-time high.
   (SFC, 8/22/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Six states led by
Pennsylvania sued the US Postal Service and the new postmaster
general, saying service changes in recent weeks have harmed the
ability of states to conduct free and fair elections.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Firefighters and
aircraft from 10 states began arriving in California to help weary
crews battling some of the largest blazes in state history as
weekend weather threatened to renew the advance of flames that have
killed six people and incinerated hundreds of homes. Two Bay Area
clusters, the LNU Lightning Complex and the SCU Lightning Complex,
became respectively the second- and third-largest wildfires in
recent state history by size. The CZU Lightning Complex burned in
San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Joseph James
DeAngelo, the former police officer known as the Golden State
Killer, was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty
to a series of murders and rapes in California during the 1970s and
1980s.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, California to
date had 659,768 cases of coronavirus and 11,988 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 77,556 cases and 1,031 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,623,727 with the death toll at 175,406.
   (sfist.com, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Iowa City
Michael Ray Stepanek (45) drove his car through a crowd of racial
justice demonstrators, striking several people. Police arrested
Stepanek after video of the incident circulated on social media. In
December a judge granted Stepanek a deferred judgement. A felony
charge of willful injury resulting in bodily injury against Stepanek
will be dismissed and expunged as long as he does not commit a crime
during a three-year term of probation.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y66zjqqv)(SSFC, 1/10/21,
p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Louisiana
police officers followed Trayford Pellerin (31) on foot as he left a
convenience store late today where he had created a disturbance with
a knife in Lafayette. Stun guns failed to stop him, and the officers
shot Pellerin as he tried to enter another convenience store, still
with the knife. A night of violence erupted the next day after
police shot and killed the Black man.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, The US Attorney's
Office in New Orleans indicted 11 individuals in connection with a
scam to create crashes between cars and 18-wheelers and cash in on
insurance payments.
   (Benzinga, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Boston a
federal judge accepted plea deals from actress Lori Loughlin and her
husband Mossimo Giannulli in a video sentencing hearing. Loughlin
will serve two months in prison and her husband will serve five
months after the couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the
college admissions scandal.
   (CBS News, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In South Dakota
the city of Sturgis began testing all city employees along with some
first responders following the massive annual Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally. At least 15 cases in Minnesota have been linked to the rally.
   (Good Morning America, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Texas a
dredging vessel in the port of Corpus Christi hit a natural gas
pipeline sparking an explosion that sent six people to the hospital
and left four others missing. The bodies of two missing crew members
of a dredging boat were found the next day. Two other crew members
of the dredging vessel Waymon L Boyd remained missing.
   (SFC, 8/22/20, p.A4)(AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Virginia Peter
Rafael Dzibinski Debbins (45), a former Army Green Beret living, was
arrested, charged with divulging military secrets about his unit's
activities in former Soviet republics during more than a decade of
contacts with Russian intelligence. Prosecutors say the espionage
took place from 1996 to 2011.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Belarus's state
publishing house stopped printing top independent newspapers the
Narodnaya Volya and Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing equipment
malfunction. Authorities threatened demonstrators with criminal
charges in a bid to stop protests.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, It was reported
that Britain's AstraZeneca has received regulatory approval to
conduct part of a Phase III trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine
in Russia.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Cyprus
thousands of motorcyclists staged simultaneous rides through cities
and towns to protest a police decree that they claim infringes on
their constitutional right to unfettered mobility. Police say a ban
on large-displacement motorcycles from some city streets during the
predawn hours on certain days is needed to combat noise pollution
that has gotten out of hand because of illegally modified
motorcycles.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, The Czech
authorities recorded 506 new coronavirus cases, the highest number
of new infections in one day since the outbreak began there. Czechia
has so far reported 21,551 confirmed cases of the virus, with 411
deaths, including 19 over the past week.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, It was reported
that Iran has offered to allow UN nuclear inspectors to visit two
controversial nuclear sites as part of its diplomatic charm
offensive to have the international arms embargo against Tehran
lifted.
   (The Telegraph, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Iraq protesters
torched parliament offices in the oil-rich south following days of
inaction by the government after two activists were assassinated.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Kenya's police
teargassed protesters holding a peaceful demonstration against
alleged corruption including the theft of supplies for the fight
against COVID-19.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Lebanon began a
two-week partial lockdown and nighttime curfew after coronavirus
cases increased sharply following an explosion in Beirut that killed
and injured thousands of people.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Libya's warring
rival administrations announced in separate statements that they
would cease all hostilities and organize nationwide elections soon,
an understanding swiftly welcomed by the United Nations.
   (AFP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Mexico the
famous “floating gardens” of Xochimilco in Mexico City reopened to
visitors after a five-month lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Mexico
independent journalist Juan Nelcio Espinoza was arrested while
covering a confrontation in the city of Piedras Negras, across the
border from Eagle Pass, Texas. Espinoza was later taken to a
hospital by police where he was pronounced dead. The office of the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights soon called for an
investigation.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Pakistan issued
sweeping financial sanctions against Afghanistan’s Taliban and other
groups, just as the Taliban is in the midst of US-led peace process
in the neighboring country. The orders were issued as part of
Pakistan's efforts to avoid being blacklisted by the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF).
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Palestinian
militants fired 12 rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight,
nine of which were intercepted. Israel responded with three
airstrikes on targets linked to the territory's militant Hamas
rulers. There were no reports of casualties.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Poland reported
903 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase since the
pandemic began. The country has reported 60,281 cases in all, and
1,938 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, The chief doctor
at the Siberian hospital where Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is
being treated said that Navalny would remain there until his
condition stabilized. Navalny's wife made a direct appeal to
President Vladimir Putin to allow her husband to be evacuated to
Germany, as Russian doctors denied he had been poisoned.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)(AFP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, South Korea
reported 324 new cases of the coronavirus. The recent surge of
infections now appears to be spreading nationwide.
   (SFC, 8/22/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, In Spain Nordin
Benallal (41), a criminal known in Belgium as the “breakout king”
after a series of audacious prison escapes, was arrested with two
accomplices on suspicion of taking part in a violent kidnapping
attempt.
   (The Telegraph, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Spain reported
that the death toll in an outbreak of West Nile virus in the
southern region of Andalusia has risen to two, after an 85-year old
woman died in hospital.
   (Reuters, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, The Turkish
government formally converted Istanbul’s Church of St. Saviour in
Chora, a former Byzantine church, into a mosque. The move came a
month after it drew praise from the faithful and international
opposition for similarly turning Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia
into a Muslim house of prayer.
   (AP, 8/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, US President
Donald Trump accused members of the "deep state" at the Food and
Drug Administration, without providing evidence, of working to slow
testing of COVID-19 vaccines until after the November presidential
election.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, The US House
passed legislation that would provide $25 billion to the United
States Postal Service, while also banning any operational changes to
the agency like the removal of mail-sorting machines and collection
boxes and reversing already-enacted measures. It was unlikely the
bill will pass the Republican-controlled Senate.
   (The Week, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Mary Trump
revealed that she had covertly taped 15 hours of face-to-face
conversations with her aunt, Maryanne Trump Barry in 2018 and 2019.
Trump’s older sister, a former federal judge, is heard sharply
criticizing her brother in a series of recordings, at one point
saying of the president, “He has no principles”.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Los Angeles
Igorevich Kriuchkov (26), a Russian citizen, was arrested as he
headed to the airport to return home. He was accused of offering a
Tesla employee $1 million to enable a ransomware attack on the
electric car company's plant in Nevada.
   (SFC, 9/25/20, p.D2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Three fire
complexes ravaged forest and rural areas in and around the San
Francisco Bay Area. They have burned 1,175 square miles (3.043
square km), destroyed almost 1,000 homes and other structures and
killed five people, three of them who were found in a home in an
area under an evacuation order.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, California to
date had 660,967 cases of coronavirus and 12,015 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 78,218 cases and 1,033 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,656,560 with the death toll at 176,070.
   (sfist.com, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Colorado dozens
of armed protesters descended on the Denver Police Headquarters and
damaged buildings, set fires and injured an officer. A dozen people
were arrested. Protesters cited a variety of reasons.
   (SFC, 8/24/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, It was reported
that at least 32 positive coronavirus cases and now a woman's death
have been linked to an August 7 wedding reception at the Big Moose
Inn in Millinocket, Maine.
   (Good Morning America, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Oregon
demonstrators faced off in Portland with the two sides — one aligned
with a "Back the Blue" rally and the other a Black Lives Matter
counter-demonstration — reportedly largely ignoring police warnings.
Ultimately, Department of Homeland Security officers deemed the
gatherings unlawful and moved through the plaza, forcing the crowd
to disperse.
   (The Week, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Earth Overshoot
Day. Scientists have designated this as the date when humans have
used all the resources the planet can produce in a year. Scientists
say that humans began consuming more than the Earth can provide
without being replenished around 1970. The coronavirus pandemic this
year pushed the date back more than three weeks.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Overshoot_Day)(SSFC, 8/30/20,
p.B10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, The Belarusian
Association of Journalists said that more than 20 news sites had
been blocked, including those of US-funded Radio Liberty and Belsat,
a Polish-funded satellite TV channel focusing on Belarus.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Britain recorded
1,288 new positive cases of COVID-19, up from 1,033 a day earlier.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Zheng Zhongwei, a
Chinese health official, told state media that China has been giving
experimental coronavirus vaccines to groups facing high infection
risks since July. A government official in Chengdu said China has
approved human testing for a potential coronavirus vaccine
cultivated within insect cells.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, China reported 12
cases of the new coronavirus in the mainland, down from 22 cases a
day earlier. Mainland China had 84,951 confirmed coronavirus cases.
The COVID-19 death toll remained at 4,634.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, The French health
ministry reported 3,602 new coronavirus infections over the past 24
hours. The total coronavirus deaths in the country had risen by nine
in the past 24 hours to 30,512. The total of confirmed infection
cases in France now stands at 238,002.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Germany reported
2,034 new cases of the coronavirus, the first time the daily
national increase has topped 2,000 since the end of April.
   (SSFC, 8/23/20, p.A10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Iran’s health
minister said that at least 164 health care professionals have died
while battling the coronavirus pandemic. The total death toll from
COVID-19 stood at 20,502 out of nearly 356,800 confirmed cases.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Ireland reported
more than 100 daily COVID-19 cases for the fourth time in eight days
after the health service was notified of 156 new infections and two
additional deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Thousands of
Israelis protested outside the prime minister’s official residence
as summer-long demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu maintained
their momentum.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Italy's health
ministry reported 1,071 new coronavirus infections in the past 24
hours, exceeding 1,000 cases in a day for the first time since May
when the government eased rigid lockdown measures.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Mali top West
African officials met with the junta leaders and the deposed
president in Bamako trying to negotiate a return to civilian rule
after a coup this week. ECOWAS has demanded the reinstatement of
Pres. Keita.
   (AP, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Peru 13 people
died in a stampede at a disco in Lima after a police raid to enforce
the country's lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. 23 people
were detained.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Poland a bus
and a passenger van collided near the town of Gliwice, Silesia,
killing all nine people in the van and injuring seven people who
were traveling in the bus.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Russia’s most
prominent Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny, was in a critical
condition and undergoing full tests at a German hospital after an
emergency medical flight from Russia with suspected poisoning.
   (Washington Post, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In South Africa
Fredie Blom, thought to be the oldest man in the world, died in Cape
Town at the age of 116.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, South Korea
announced new measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus as
officials reported 332 newly confirmed cases, marking the ninth
straight day of triple-digit increases.
   (SSFC, 8/23/20, p.A10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Ukraine President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged people to act on health advice on after
official data showed daily COVID-19 infections had risen to a record
level. The country saw 2,328 cases of the new coronavirus in the
past 24 hours, and 37 deaths of people having tested positive for
the virus. Total cases rose to 102,971. The death toll has risen to
2,244.
   (Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, President Donald
Trump announced emergency authorization to treat COVID-19 patients
with convalescent plasma. The authorization makes it easier for some
patients to obtain the treatment but is not the same as full FDA
approval.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Kellyanne Conway,
one of President Donald Trump’s most influential and longest serving
advisers, announced that she would be leaving the White House at the
end of the month.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, White House chief
of staff Mark Meadows sharply criticized President Trump's sister
and niece, a day after the Washington Post published leaked audio
recordings of conversations of the two Trump relatives insulting the
president.
   (Yahoo News, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Jerry Falwell
issued a statement to the Washington Examiner in which he said that
his wife had had an affair with Giancarlo Granda and that Granda had
been trying to extort money from the couple over the matter. The
prominent evangelical leader, appeared to be nearing the end of his
leadership at Liberty University, after Granda told Reuters he had a
yearslong sexual relationship involving Falwell and his wife.
   (NY Times, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, It was reported
that as many as 215,000 more people than usual died in the US during
the first seven months of this year, suggesting the number of lives
lost to COVID-19 is significantly higher than the official toll.
   (SSFC, 8/23/20, p.A10)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, California to
date had 668,122 cases of coronavirus and 12,153 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 79,113 cases and 1,047 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,703,561 with the death toll at 176,808.
   (sfist.com, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Florida reported
2,974 new coronavirus cases, breaking the 600,000 mark. The daily
total peaked on July 15 when more than 15,000 cases were reported.
   (SFC, 8/24/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In Maine a 63-day
strike at the Bath Iron works came to an end with ship-builders
voting to return to their jobs under a new 3-year contract.
   (SFC, 8/24/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In North Carolina
protests opposing US President Donald Trump took to the streets of
Charlotte for a third straight night ahead of this week's Republican
National Convention.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Portland police
arrested 14 people overnight after officers were hit by rocks,
bottles and paint balls, following violent clashes between rival
groups of demonstrators that roiled the city's downtown area a day
earlier.
   (Reuters, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In Wisconsin a
video posted on social media appeared to show police officers shoot
at Jacob Blake (29), a Black man, seven times in the back as he
leaned into a vehicle. Protesters soon gathered and marchers headed
to the Kenosha County Public Safety Building, which houses the
police and county sheriff's departments. Blake had surgery and was
paralyzed from the waist down. Video later showed that Blake was
armed with a knife. In 2021 federal prosecutors said they would not
file charges against Officer Rusten Sheskey.
   (AP, 8/24/20)(Insider, 8/24/20)(SSFC, 10/10/21,
p.A13)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, American Airlines
said it is preparing to begin spraying its airplane cabins with a
disinfectant proven to fight COVID-19 on surfaces for up to seven
days that has been granted emergency approval by the US
Environmental Protection Agency for use in Texas.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In Belarus some
200,000 protesters demanding the resignation of authoritarian Pres.
Alexander Lukashenko rallied in a vast square in Minsk, keeping up
the massive outburst of dissent that has shaken the country since a
disputed presidential election two weeks ago. Lukashenko made a
dramatic show of defiance against the massive protests demanding his
resignation, toting a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest as he
strode off a helicopter that landed at his residence while
demonstrators massed nearby.
   (AP, 8/23/20)(SFC, 8/24/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Chinese
authorities detained 12 Hong Kong activists as they tried to reach
Taiwan by speedboat.
   (SSFC, 9/13/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Hurricane Laura
made landfall in the southeastern Dominican Republic and then
traversed Haiti, where at least 31 people died. Four deaths were
reported in the Dominican Republic.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Laura)(Econ., 8/29/20,
p.24)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Finland's PM Sanna
Marin assumed the leadership of her Social Democratic Party eight
months after taking the top job in the Nordic nation in December,
when she became the world’s youngest serving head of government at
34. She was the only candidate running for the post and no vote was
needed.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, India’s
coronavirus caseload topped 3 million, with the country leading the
world in new infections as the disease marched through impoverished
rural areas in the north and the wealthier but older populations of
the south. Health authorities reported 69,239 new cases and 912
deaths, bringing the total to 3,044,940.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had accepted a proposal to
extend budget negotiations, preventing the government from
collapsing and plunging the country into a new election.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Forces loyal to
Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter dismissed a cease-fire proposal by
the UN-supported government as a “deception,” claiming that rival
militias were preparing to attack the strategic city of Sirte. Human
Rights Watch later said that armed groups linked to the
Tripoli-based government used heavy weapons to disperse
anti-corruption rallies and of detaining, torturing and forcibly
disappearing protesters from Aug 23-29.
   (AP, 8/23/20)(SFC, 9/11/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Libyan radio
journalist Sami al-Sharif was detained by men in military uniforms
affiliated with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord.
Militiamen opened fire at protesters in Tripoli’s Martyrs Square,
and dozens of protesters were arrested and their whereabouts were
unknown.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, More than 50,000
Lithuanians joined hands in a human chain stretching 32 km (20
miles) from the capital of Vilnius to the Belarus border to express
solidarity with their neighbor's dramatic struggle for democracy.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In Madagascar a
riot began at the prison in Farafagana, a city on the southeast
coast. Twenty inmates were shot dead as authorities tried to stop
the riot. A total of 88 inmates escaped the prison during the riot,
and 31 remained on the loose.
   (Good Morning America, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, In Mozambique the
premises of two leading independent newspapers, the weekly Canal de
Mozambique and the daily CanalMoz, were attacked late today with
petrol bombs and burned. The Center for Democracy said the
fire-bombing could be linked to a report Canal printed days earlier
about bribery and the efforts of prominent Mozambicans to win
control of part of the fuel retail business worth millions of
dollars.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Turkey's President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said five people have died in floods caused by
heavy rain along its Black Sea coastline. A further 11 people were
missing after flooding around the mountain town of Dereli in Giresun
province.
   (AP, 8/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Republicans
gathered to formally nominate President Donald Trump for reelection
at a scaled-down convention kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina,
that begins a weeklong effort to convince the American people that
the president deserves a second term. President Trump and Vice
President Pence were officially nominated for re-election. On the
first night of the Republican National Convention, Trump and his
allies presented a bleak vision of the country’s future under a
Biden administration.
   (AP, 8/24/20)(The Week, 8/25/20)(NY Times,
8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Twenty seven
former Republican US lawmakers, including former Senator Jeff Flake,
endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, the first day of the
Republican National Convention, in the latest rebuke of President
Donald Trump by members of his own party.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, A US military
airstrike in Somalia reportedly killed six al-Shabab extremists
after the al-Qaida-linked group attacked Somali forces while US
forces were nearby.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, The S&P 500
and Nasdaq Composite hit the latest in a series of records as
optimism about COVID-19 treatment boosted investor sentiment.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, The University of
Alabama said that 531 cases had been identified among students,
faculty and staff since classes resumed at its Tuscaloosa campus
last week.
   (NY Times, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Firefighters
battling three massive wildfires in Northern California got a break
from the weather as humidity rose and there was no return of the
onslaught of lightning strikes that ignited the infernos a week
earlier. The death toll from the fires reached 7 over the weekend.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, The California
Supreme Court overturned Scott Peterson's 2005 death sentence in a
case that attracted worldwide attention. The justices cited
“significant errors" in jury selection in overturning the death
penalty but welcomed prosecutors to again seek the sentence if they
wish. His conviction for killing his pregnant wife will stand.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, California to
date had 675,373 cases of coronavirus and 12,243 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 79,962 cases and 1,049 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,737,398 with the death toll at 177,215.
   (sfist.com, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, A judge in Florida
struck down the state’s requirement that public schools open their
classrooms for in-person instruction.
   (NY Times, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, It was disclosed
that the New York state attorney general is investigating whether
Donald Trump and the Trump Organization improperly manipulated the
value of the US president's assets to secure loans and obtain
economic and tax benefits. Trump's son Eric has reportedly been
uncooperative in the civil probe.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Wisconsin
police officers deployed tear gas early today to disperse hundreds
of people who took to the streets following a police shooting in
Kenosha that also drew a harsh rebuke from the governor after a
video posted on social media appeared to show officers shoot at
Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back as he leaned into
a vehicle. Protesters set several Kenosha businesses on fire early
this morning. The father of Jacob Blake says his son was left
paralyzed from the waist down. Wisconsin's governor called out the
National Guard.
   (AP, 8/24/20)(NY Times, 8/25/20)(AP,
8/25/20)(Reuters, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Novavax Inc said
it has begun enrolling volunteers for the second phase of an ongoing
clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with interim data
expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Exxon Mobil Corp,
Pfizer Inc. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. were kicked out of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average, making way for Salesforce.com, Amgen
Inc. and Honeywell International to enter the 124-year old equity
gauge a week from today. ExxonMobil was ejected from the DJIA,
having been a member since 1928.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y5udfaal)(Econ., 9/19/20,
p.13)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Australia
notorious conman Peter Foster, who once assisted Cherie Blair in
purchasing two properties in Bristol, was extradited to Sydney. Mr
Foster was captured by two police officers disguised as joggers who
tackled him on a beach in northern Queensland on August 20.
   (The Telegraph, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Austria expelled a
Russian diplomat for reported industrial espionage, prompting
protests and a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.
   (The Telegraph, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Belarus police
detained several leading opposition activists who have helped
spearhead a wave of protests challenging the re-election of Pres.
Alexander Lukashenko.
   (SFC, 8/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Germany the
Charite hospital said a medical examination of Russian opposition
leader Alexei Navalny has found indications of poisoning. The
clinical findings indicated poisoning by a substance from the group
of active substances called cholinesterase inhibitors.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Hong Kong
researchers reported that a 33-year-old man was infected a second
time with the coronavirus more than four months after his first
bout. This was the first documented case of so-called reinfection.
The patient experienced no symptoms from his second infection,
indicating his immune system may have learned how to respond.
   (NY Times, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Israeli
archaeologists announced the discovery of a trove of early Islamic
gold coins found during recent salvage excavations near the central
city of Yavne. The collection of 425 complete gold coins mostly
dated to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Italy kicked off
human trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, joining a global
effort to develop a response to the virus which has shown signs of
resurging in Europe.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Japan-based Takeda
Pharmaceutical Co said it would sell its Japanese consumer
healthcare business to US buyout fund Blackstone Group, as it aims
to focus on developing drugs for unmet medical needs and rare
diseases.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Mali an
official in talks between the military junta and ECOWAS said the
junta wants to put off elections for three years in order to prepare
a new constitution prior to any vote.
   (SFC, 8/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In the southern
Philippines Muslim militant set off a powerful explosive followed by
a suicide bombing that together killed 14 people in Jolo town, Sulu
province.
   (SFC, 8/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, It was reported
that Illegal gold diggers have destroyed a 2,000-year-old
archaeological site in Sudan in the eastern region of the Sahara
desert. The Jabal Maragha site, which dates from the Meroitic period
between 350 BC and 350 AD, is said to have either been a small
settlement or a checkpoint.
   (BBC, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, The Swiss-based
World Health Organization said some 172 countries are engaging with
the COVAX facility designed to ensure equitable access to COVID-19
vaccines. COVAX is co-led by the GAVI vaccines alliance, the WHO and
the CEPI Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and is
designed to guarantee equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines
once they are developed and authorized for use.
   (Reuters, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Syria a
explosion early today struck a gas pipeline in a Damascus suburb,
causing a huge fire and cutting off electricity throughout the
country. Islamic State group militants were suspected.
   (SFC, 8/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Turkish rescue
workers recovered the body of another victim of severe weekend
floods that swept along Turkey’s Black Sea coast, raising the death
toll to seven. At least nine other people remained missing.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, The UN
counter-terrorism chief said more than 10,000 Islamic State fighters
are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the
militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly
increased this year.
   (AP, 8/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Eric Trump echoed
falsehoods of his father, Melania Trump credited her husband with a
dubious religious first, and the president's economic adviser wholly
distorted the conditions Donald Trump inherited as Republicans
stepped up to praise him on the 2nd night of their national
convention.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, US Food and Drug
Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn apologized for overstating
the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with
convalescent plasma.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, The US Justice
Department charged Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries with
conspiring with rivals to raise generic-drug prices.
   (The Week, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Los Angeles
Daniel Silva (27), a tattoo artist who has been featured on the
television reality show "Ink Master," was sentenced to 364 days in
jail for a fatal car crash in May that killed his passenger,
YouTuber Corey La Barrie.
   (NBC News, 8/26/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, California to
date had 679,135 cases of coronavirus and 12,300 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 80,686 cases and 1,071 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,773,220 with the death toll at 178,326.
   (sfist.com, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Kentucky police
arrested 64 people in Louisville during what organizers described as
a "massive demonstration" over the death of Breonna Taylor, who was
fatally shot in her home during a raid related to a drug suspect who
didn't live there.
   (The Week, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Oregon police
in the city of Portland late today declared a gathering of hundreds
of protesters outside City Hall as a riot, ordering the crowd to
disperse or face arrest. About 200 demonstrators assembled downtown
at Shemanski Park before marching to the City Hall, where some in
the crowd broke glass doors and smashed a door switch.
   (Reuters, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Thousands of
people were ordered to evacuate the Texas and Louisiana coasts as
Laura strengthened into a hurricane that forecasters said could slam
into land as a major storm with ferocious winds and deadly flooding.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Wisconsin two
people were killed and another was injured late today as shots were
fired during a third night of protests in Kenosha over the shooting
of Jacob Blake. Gov. Tony Evers (D) declared a state of emergency.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, American Airlines
said it will eliminate 19,000 jobs in October as it struggles with a
sharp downturn in travel because of the pandemic.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, In Afghanistan a
Taliban car bomb in the northern province of Balkh killed at least
eight civilians, as well as two Afghan commandos whose unit was
based nearby.
   (NY Times, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, The Africa
Regional Certification Commission announced that Africa has been
declared free from wild polio. The disease is now only found in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
   (BBC, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Authorities in
Belarus steadily cranked up the pressure on protesters pushing for
the resignation of the country's authoritarian leader, jailing
several opposition activists, summoning others for questioning and
selectively ordering demonstrators to appear in court.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, The Democratic
Republic of Congo said it has ended the world's largest measles
outbreak that has killed more than 7,000 children since it was
declared 14 months ago.
   (Reuters, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, India's
anti-terrorism agency named a Pakistan-based militant leader as the
prime mastermind of a 2019 car bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir
that killed 40 Indian soldiers and brought the nuclear-armed rivals
to the brink of war. A charge sheet named Masood Azhar, chief of
Jaish-e-Mohammed, and 19 others among the accused.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Iran's nuclear
body said it held "constructive" talks with the visiting head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency amid tensions over a US bid to
reimpose UN sanctions.
   (AFP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Israel's military
bombed militant positions in the Gaza Strip early today in response
to incendiary balloons launched into southern Israel farmlands a day
earlier.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Gaza's militant
Hamas rulers imposed a territory-wide curfew after authorities
detected the first local cases of the coronavirus, raising fears of
a wider outbreak in the blockaded territory that is home to some 2
million Palestinians. Gaza has registered more than 100 cases and a
fatality since the start of the pandemic, but until now all the
infections were linked to quarantine facilities for returning
travelers.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, The Kremlin
brushed off allegations that Russian opposition leader Alexei
Navalny, who is in a coma in a German hospital, was poisoned and
said there have been no grounds for a criminal investigation so far
because the politician's condition may have been triggered by other
causes.
   (AP, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Yevgeny Prigozhin,
a notorious ally of Vladimir Putin, said he will use Russia’s
corrupt courts to destroy Alexei Navalny financially if the stricken
opposition leader ever recovers from a chemical agent believed to
have been slipped into his tea.
   (The Daily Beast, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Sweden's Public
Health Agency said about 3,700 people in Sweden were told in error
that they had the coronavirus due to a fault in BGI Genomics'
COVID-19 testing kit from China.
   (Reuters, 8/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, A Thai court
issued a new arrest warrant for Vorayuth Yoovidhya, an heir to the
Red Bull energy drink fortune, for the 2012 death of a motorcycle
policeman killed after being stuck by Yoovidhya's Ferrari. The
heir's current location was not known.
   (SFC, 8/26/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Republicans used
the third night of their convention to continue warning about
violence and lawlessness, trying to capitalize on the unrest in
Wisconsin. Vice President Mike Pence formally accepted his party's
2020 vice presidential nomination. Pence condemned the "violence and
chaos in the streets of our major cities" but did not directly
mention Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot in the back by
police in Kenosha, sparking ongoing protests over racial injustice.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)(Yahoo News, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Two federal health
officials said officials in the Trump administration told the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin discouraging
people without coronavirus symptoms from being tested.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The Trump
administration added 24 Chinese companies to a government list that
bans them from purchasing certain sensitive US products, citing
their role in helping the Chinese military construct artificial
islands in the disputed South China Sea.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The US government
warned that North Korean hackers are tapping into banks around the
globe to make fraudulent money transfers and cause ATMs to spit out
cash.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The Justice
Department executed Lezmond Mitchell (38) at the federal
penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. He was the only Native American
man on federal death row and was executed against the wishes of
Navajo leaders. He had been sentenced to death for the 2001 murder
of a grandmother, Alyce Slim, and her 9-year-old granddaughter,
Tiffany Lee. Mitchell was the fourth person to be executed since the
Trump administration resumed federal capital punishment last year.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The US Department
of Energy said it will provide $625 million over the next five years
for five newly formed quantum information research hubs as it tries
to keep ahead of competing nations like China on the emerging
technology.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, US professional
sports seasons seemed in doubt, as athletes staged walkouts to
protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was partly
paralyzed after a white police officer shot him in Kenosha, Wis.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The US FDA
authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn't need any
special computer equipment to get results. The 15-minute test from
Abbot Laboratories will sell for $5.
   (SFC, 8/28/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Oakland, Ca.,
600 to 700 people took part in the protests where “numerous fires
(were) set, dozens of windows broken, (and) multiple businesses
vandalized.” The police Dept. said protesters threw objects at
officers but none were injured. Several people were arrested.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, California to
date had 683,928 cases of coronavirus and 12,461 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 81,919 cases and 1,091 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,816,968 with the death toll at 179,565.
   (sfist.com, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, A chaotic night in
Minneapolis began in the afternoon when police responded to a fatal
shooting and began searching for a man and a woman suspected of
being involved in the homicide and fled the scene on foot. A male
suspect was spotted by officers outside the Nicollet Mall in
downtown Minneapolis. As officers approached the suspect, he
produced a handgun and shot himself in the head. Unrest followed and
people broke windows and stole merchandise. At least 33 people were
arrested as Gov. Tim Walz mobilized the National Guard at the
request of Mayor Jacob Frey.
   (ABC News, 8/27/20)(SFC, 8/28/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Former Minnesota
college student Tnuza Jamal Hassan (22), pleaded guilty in US
District Court to attempting to provide material support to a
designated foreign terrorist organization. Hassan tried to travel to
Afghanistan on Sept. 19, 2017, making it as far as Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, before she was stopped because she lacked a visa.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Mississippi a
drone carrying marijuana, cigarette lighters and cell phones was
caught in a net above the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
in Pearl. Two men were soon arrested on charges of conspiracy and
smuggling.
   (SFC, 9/11/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Nebraska police
investigator Luis “Mario” Herrera was shot in Lincoln as he sought
to serve an arrest warrant on Felipe Vazquez (17) in the March
stabbing death of Edward Varejcka (36). Herrera died on Sept. 7 and
a second degree assault charge against Vazquez was raised to first
degree murder.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Dallas-area
taxicab driver Yaser Abdel Said (63), wanted for the Jan. 1, 2008,
slayings of his two teenage daughters, was arrested in a small North
Texas town. The teenage sisters were found shot multiple times in a
cab outside a motel in Irving, a Dallas suburb.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Hurricane Laura
rapidly gained strength, forecast to become a “catastrophic”
Category 4 hurricane before striking Texas and Louisiana. Officials
implored coastal residents to flee before it's too late.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Wisconsin
authorities arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old white Illinois
resident, and charged him with first-degree intentional homicide in
the shooting of two protesters on August 25. Police said Rittenhouse
shot three people, killing two and injuring one.
   (Yahoo News, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Moderna Inc said
that an analysis of the early-stage data of its experimental
COVID-19 vaccine showed it induced immune responses in older adults
that were similar to younger participants.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, VBI Vaccines Inc
said it expected to begin human testing of two of its experimental
COVID-19 vaccine candidates at the end of the year.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Afghanistan
overnight flash floods killed over 100 people and injured scores of
others in Charikar, home to nearly 200,000 people and the capital of
Parwan Province, just north of Kabul. The death toll soon rose to at
least 150.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A3)(SFC, 8/28/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Belarus' Nobel
Prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich was summoned for
questioning and police detained dozens of demonstrators in a
continuing crackdown on protests challenging the re-election of the
country's authoritarian ruler. She is a member of an opposition
council created to facilitate talks on a transition of power.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Authorities in
Bosnia's Krajina region, which borders European Union-member
Croatia, had to dispatch special police forces late today to a
UN-run migrant camp near the town of Bihac to calm a protest by
1,000 migrants who live there, sparked by the alleged police beating
of an unhoused migrant.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Egypt’s election
commission said it would refer to prosecutors about 54 million
people who did not vote in elections earlier this month for
two-thirds of the Senate, the upper and mainly powerless chamber of
the country’s Parliament. Lasheen Ibrahim, the commission’s
chairman, had vowed to enforce a law penalizing any boycotter with a
fine of up to 500 Egyptian pounds ($32).
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, It was reported
that French prosecutors have opened an investigation after national
television broadcast social media video showing drug dealers openly
carrying assault rifles in Grenoble. The video sparked outrage as
concern rose over a crime wave in French holiday towns this summer.
   (The Telegraph, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Greece and Turkey
vowed to defend their competing claims in the eastern Mediterranean
as the NATO allies remained locked in a tense dispute over offshore
energy exploration rights.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Hong Kong police
arrested 16 people on charges related to ant-government protests
last year, including opposition lawmakers Ted Hui and Lam
Cheuk-ting.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, The IAEA said Iran
has agreed to allow inspectors in to two sites where the country is
suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Japanese
researchers said that low concentrations of ozone can neutralize
coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to
disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Jordan
cartoonist Emad Hajjaj was arrested for criticizing the agreement
between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, It was reported
that Mali has been suspended from a global body of French-speaking
countries after a military junta overthrew the West African
country's democratically elected president.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, It was reported
that at least 13 dead dolphins have been found on the seashore in
Mauritius, more than a month after the huge oil spill caused by a
Japanese-owned ship.
   (BBC, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Trading on New
Zealand's stock exchange was halted for several hours after what
appeared to be a second offshore cyber attack in as many days.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Gaza’s Hamas
rulers extended a full lockdown in the Palestinian enclave for three
more days as coronavirus cases climbed following the detection this
week of the first community transmissions of the virus in the
densely populated, blockaded territory.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, A Palestinian man
(46) fatally stabbed an Israeli man (39) near Petah Tikva. The
suspect had entered Israel on a work permit and fled the scene, but
was soon arrested.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Scotland said it
is buying 300 COVID-19 testing machines that can give results in 12
minutes, helping to locate potential outbreaks in remote locations.
   (Reuters, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In South Africa
Nathaniel Julius (16), who had Down's syndrome, was shot dead after
going out to buy biscuits in Johannesburg's Eldorado Park suburb. A
day later hundreds of local residents took to the streets to
protest, leading to violent clashes with police. Two police officers
were soon arrested over the deadly shooting.
   (BBC, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In South Africa
well-known conservationist West Mathewson died after he was mauled
by two white lions as he was taking them for a walk.
   (BBC, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In South Korea
doctors in the greater Seoul area joined physicians in other parts
of the country in a 3-day strike against government plans to boost
the number of medical students. Health officials ordered the doctors
of return to work.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, In Yemen fighting
resumed overnight between the separatists and government forces in
Abyan, after the separatists suspended participation in talks to
implement a Saudi-brokered peace deal.
   (AP, 8/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Pres. Donald Trump
delivered a triumphant, optimistic vision of America’s future as he
accepted the Republican nomination for president at the White House.
But he said that brighter horizon could only be secured if he
defeated his Democratic foe, who currently has an advantage in most
national and battleground state polls. Trump claimed accomplishments
he didn't earn on the pandemic, energy and veterans at the
convention finale that also heard Black Lives Matter baselessly
accused of coordinating violent protests across the country. Some
guests at the political event, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul,
needed to be escorted by police officers to safety upon leaving the
White House grounds.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, It was reported
that Washington has blacklisted five Russian institutions it
believes are developing chemical and biological weapons. Moscow
called the decision “groundless” and said it will seek
clarification.
   (The Telegraph, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, A US District
Court judge in Washington ruled that the Justice Department's new
lethal injection protocol violated drug safety laws and ordered a
planned execution for August 28 to be halted.
   (Reuters, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, The US Federal
Reserve said it would focus more on keeping unemployment low in the
future, even if inflation had to run slightly higher.
   (NY Times, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, The US government
sought to seize 280 cryptocurrency accounts it said were used by
North Korean hackers who stole millions of dollars of cryptocurrency
from two virtual exchanges, and used Chinese traders to launder
their funds.
   (Reuters, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, The US Marshals
Service said it has found 39 missing children in Georgia over two
weeks in a mission known as "Operation Not Forgotten".
   (CBS News, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, The group of
wildfires near Santa Cruz, Ca., has burned 125 square miles (324
square km) and destroyed more than 500 buildings. While those fires
are 20% contained, firefighters have been pushed to the breaking
point since lightning ignited more than 500 blazes in one night last
week.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, California to
date had 689,554 cases of coronavirus and 12,622 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 82,828 cases and 1,098 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,860,397 with the death toll at 180,527.
   (sfist.com, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In southern
California two soldiers were killed and three injured when their
Blackhawk helicopter crashed on San Clemente Island.
   (SFC, 8/29/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Laura made
landfall as a Category 4 storm early this morning near the
Louisiana-Texas border. The National Hurricane Center called the
expected storm surge “unsurvivable,” and said that it could push 40
miles inland. Laura plowed through Louisiana, killing at least six
people and ripping apart buildings.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)(NY Times, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, A large chemical
fire sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles, Louisiana, hours
after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed directly over the city.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, US prosecutors in
Detroit said the former president of the United Auto Workers, Dennis
Williams (67), has been charged with conspiring with other union
officials to embezzle UAW funds. Williams, of Corona, California,
was charged with conspiring with successor Gary Jones and others to
embezzle money between 2010 and September 2019. Williams was the
head of the union from June 2014 to June 2018.
   (Reuters, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In North Carolina
Ronnie Long (64) was freed after the state filed a motion in federal
court a day earlier seeking to vacate his 1976 conviction by an
all-white jury. He was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree
rape and first-degree burglary. His attorney said forensic reports
implicating another suspect weren't turned over to the defense by
the state and that police "perjured themselves" during Long's trial.
   (NBC News, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Lord & Taylor,
the first US department store (1826), said it is officially closing
all 38 of its remaining stores. Liquidation sales have also begun
storewide and online.
   (Good Morning America, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, British police
said a man (45) has been arrested in London on suspicion of war
crimes relating to the first and second Liberian civil wars between
1989 and 2003.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Nearly 500
Burundian refugees living in Rwanda began their journey back to
their home country, the first group to return after five years in
exile following deadly political violence sent many fleeing. new
president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, has invited all those in exile to
return and build a new nation.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, The Danish
government advised its citizens against traveling to France and
Croatia as coronavirus thresholds passed 30 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Denmark has reported 16,627 confirmed cases and 624 deaths.
   (SFC, 8/28/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, It was reported
that the European Commission has made a 336 million euros ($396
million) down payment to British drug maker AstraZeneca to secure at
least 300 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine.
   (Reuters, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, France-based
clinical diagnostics company Novacyt, one of many healthcare
companies whose shares have surged during the pandemic, launched a
test to differentiate between COVID-19 and common winter diseases.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Chancellor Angela
Merkel said most of Germany will impose a minimum fine of 50 euros
($59) for breaching mask-wearing rules as coronavirus infections
rise again.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, India recorded its
highest single-day increase with 75,760 new coronavirus cases. The
Health Ministry also reported 1,023 deaths over the last 24 hours,
raising that total to 60,472.
   (SFC, 8/28/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, It was reported
that archeologists in Japan have dug up the remains of more than
1,500 people who were buried in a 19th century mass grave in Osaka.
An epidemic of syphilis was suspected as a possible cause. The area
is being excavated for a city development project.
   (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In Lebanon two
people - a 13-year-old Lebanese Sunni boy and a Syrian man - were
killed in the Khaldeh area south of the capital in a shootout. The
deadly battle between Sunnis and Shi'ites prompted warnings of more
violence as the country is pushed to breaking point by a financial
meltdown and political tensions.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Former Malian
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita returned home after being detained
for 10 days by the ruling military junta that staged a coup d'etat
last week.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In New Zealand
Brenton Tarrant, an Australian who last year murdered 51 Muslims at
two mosques in Christchurch, was sentenced to life in prison without
any chance of parole.
   (NY Times, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un visited a rice-growing area devastated by Typhoon
Bavi. The storm slammed into the country’s southwestern province of
Hwanghae, dealing a damaging blow to its corn stalks, rice paddies
and other crops, and raising fears of increased hunger among an
already malnourished population. Kim Jong Un said the country was
"fortunate" and had suffered only limited damage.
   (AFP, 8/27/20)   (The Telegraph,
8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Russian President
Vladimir Putin vowed military support for embattled Belarusian
leader Alexander Lukashenko, while urging a peaceful resolution to
unrest and demonstrations that erupted after a disputed election.
   (AFP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, South Korea
reported 441 new coronavirus cases, its highest singe-day total in
months.
   (SFC, 8/28/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In Turkey human
rights lawyer Ebru Timtik (42) died of a hunger strike in a hospital
in Istanbul. She had launched the strike in prison to demand a fair
trial for herself and colleagues. The lawyer and 17 of her
colleagues were accused of links to the outlawed Revolutionary
People’s Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP/C, a militant group
designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and
the European Union.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In Uganda 10
children were killed by lightning in the north-western city of Arua
after sheltering in a hut during a storm.
   (BBC, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, It was reported
that renewed clashes between forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally
recognized government and their rivals, the Iran-backed Houthi
rebels, left five fighters dead in the strategic port city of
Hodeida.
   (AP, 8/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Speaking in New
Hampshire Pres. Donald Trump said he was the only thing standing
between “democracy and the mob,” as he lashed out at protesters who
accosted his supporters as they left the White House the night
before.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, John Ratcliffe,
head of the top US intelligence office, told lawmakers it will end
in-person briefings on election security because there had been
leaks from congressional committees. He said the office would send
written reports instead, giving lawmakers less opportunity to press
for details.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Thousands of
people gathered to march in Washington, D.C., to denounce racism,
protest police brutality and commemorate the anniversary of the
march in 1963 where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr made
his "I Have a Dream" speech.
   (Reuters, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Black Lives Matter
activists held their first Black National Convention. The virtual
event adopted a political agenda calling for slavery reparations,
universal basic income, environmental justice and legislation that
entirely re-imagines criminal justice reform.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Remnants of
Hurricane Laura doused Arkansas and were due to bring rain to the
East Coast over the weekend.
   (Reuters, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Arkansas County
Sheriff Todd Wright resigned under pressure after a recording of a
man identified as him delivering a racist rant went viral.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, A federal judge in
California agreed to release from jail Dr. Juan Tang, a university
researcher accused of lying about her ties to China’s military and
Communist Party to gain access to the US, after a Chinese emigre
offered to put up $750,000 in home equity as bond.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed a bill to outlaw the sale of flavored
e-cigarettes, effective January 1.
   (SFC, 8/29/20, p.B1)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, California to
date had 693,268 cases of coronavirus and 12,720 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 83,666 cases and 1,110 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,910,400 with the death toll at 181,655.
   (sfist.com, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Indiana Keith
Nelson (45), the killer of a Kansas girl, became the fifth federal
inmate put to death this year, an execution that went forward only
after a higher court tossed a ruling that would have required the
government to get a prescription for the drug used to kill him. In
1999 Nelson raped and strangled Pamela Butler (10) with a wire.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Film star Chadwick
Boseman (43), an actor whose work celebrated African-American
pioneers and culture, died in Los Angeles after a four-year battle
with colon cancer. His films included "42" (2013) in which he played
Jackie Robinson; "Get on Up" (2014) and "Black Panther"
(2018).Â
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman)(Econ., 9/5/20,
p.78)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The death toll
increased to 14 in Louisiana and Texas as the Gulf Coast cleaned up
a day after being walloped by Hurricane Laura.
   (Good Morning America, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Mississippi
Barnard Lnell Morrow, a suspect in the March 14 shooting deaths of
three people in Killeen, Texas, including a Fort Hood soldier, was
arrested in Newton.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Mark Zuckerberg
said Facebook should have taken down the page and event listing
promoting a militia group that called for armed citizens to defend
Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid ongoing protests there. The event, titled:
"Armed Citizens to Protect Our Lives and Property," and the page,
"Kenosha Guard," were removed after two people were killed in a
shooting there on August 25.
   (Business Insider, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, It was reported
that Walmart has joined Microsoft’s bid to purchase the popular
video app TikTok. A coalition including the software company Oracle
has also made a bid.
   (NY Times, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Brazil's main
prosecutor's office said that Wilson Witzel, a former federal judge
and the governor of Rio de Janeiro, has been removed from office for
180 days due to corruption charges.
   (SFC, 8/29/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, China announced
updates to export laws. ByteDance will now need Chinese government
approval to sell US operations of the popular TikTok short-video
app. Beijing added artificial intelligence interface technologies,
including those that analyze data to make personalized content
recommendations, to its list of export-control products published on
the Ministry of Commerce’s website.
   (The Week, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, China reported
nine new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the same number as the
previous day, with all of them travelling into the country from
overseas.
   (Reuters, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, It was reported
that Egyptian police have arrested Mahmoud Ezzat (76), a high-level
leader in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, at his hiding place in
Cairo.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Indian lawmaker H.
Vasanthakumar, from the country's main opposition party Congress,
became the latest high profile figure to die from COVID-19, the
infection caused by the novel coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The Israeli
military struck militant targets in Gaza, including a weapons
manufacturing site, after six rockets were fired from the territory.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Japan’s PM Shinzo
Abe announced that he would resign because of illness, just days
after becoming the country’s longest-serving leader. A biography of
Mr. Abe, "The Iconoclast" by Tobias Harris, was soon published.
   (NY Times, 8/28/20)(Econ., 9/5/20, p.73)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Namibia's
President Hage Geingob announced a lift of lockdown restrictions,
allowing international travel, schools to reopen and onsite alcohol
consumption from September, but he extended an overnight curfew as
COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, It was reported
that flooding from heavy rains in Niger has killed at least 45
people this week and forced more than 226,000 from their homes.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Amsterdam's
Schiphol Airport announced that it will cut hundreds of jobs as it
warned that air traffic likely will not return to pre-coronavirus
pandemic levels until 2023-25.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The Dutch
government brought forward to March a ban on mink-farming that had
been scheduled to take effect in 2024.
   (Econ., 9/5/20, p.43)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, A polar bear
attacked a camping site in Norway's remote Svalbard Islands, killing
a 38-year-old Dutch man before being shot and killed by onlookers.
Johan Jacobus Kootte was the fifth person on Svalbard to have been
killed by polar bears since 1971.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Pakistan heavy
overnight rains hit parts of the country including the financial
capital Karachi bringing more flooding to towns and villages and
leaving at least 36 people dead.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Russia's Foreign
Ministry announced the expulsion of a Norwegian diplomat in response
to a similar move by Norway last week.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, In Sweden
far-right activists burned a Quran in Malmo near a predominantly
migrant neighborhood, sparking riots and unrest after more than 300
people gathered to protest. Police detained about 15 people.
   (SSFC, 8/30/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Ukraine's High
Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) convicted Oleksandr Levkivsky, a
regional forestry official, for taking a $10,000 kickback to let out
public land.
   (Econ., 9/26/20, p.56)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The UN rights
chief called on the Democratic Republic of Congo to swiftly
investigate death threats against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis
Mukwege and bring those responsible to justice. Death threats were
made in July after he had sent out a tweet condemning the massacre
of 18 people in South Kivu, the strife-torn province in eastern DR
Congo where he has his clinic. Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist
shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work against sexual
violence in war.
   (AFP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The UN Security
Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the United
Nations and its 193 member nations to step up action to increase the
number of women in military and civilian positions at all levels in
the UN’s far-flung peacekeeping operations.
   (AP, 8/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The UN Security
Council unanimously approved a resolution cutting the UN
peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 15,000 to
13,000 and expanded its mandate to address US and Israeli concerns
about activities of the militant group Hezbollah.
   (SSFC, 8/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, California to
date had 698,370 cases of coronavirus and 12,837 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 84,424 cases and 1,110 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,954,676 with the death toll at 182,665.
   (sfist.com, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, In Oregon a man
was fatally shot as a caravan of Mr. Trump’s supporters drove
through Portland for a pro-Trump rally and clashed with counter
protesters. The man who was killed was wearing a hat with a
far-right insignia. Right-wing Trump supporter, Aaron “Jay”
Danielson, was shot and killed after he came downtown. On August 30
antifa supporter Michael Forest Reinoehl (48), the suspected shooter
of Danielson, was shot and killed near Lacey, Wa., by law
enforcement agents.
   (NY Times, 8/30/20)(AP, 9/3/20)(AP, 9/4/20)(NY
Times, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, In Wisconsin
family members of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was paralyzed after a
Kenosha police officer shot him in the back, led a march and rally
to call for an end to police violence. A crowd of about 1,000
demonstrators gathered outside a courthouse in Kenosha to denounce
police violence and share messages of change.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani issued a decree late today establishing a 46-member
council, led by his former rival in last year’s presidential
election, Abdullah Abdullah. It will have final say on whether the
government will sign a peace deal with the Taliban after what are
expected to be protracted and uncertain negotiations with the
insurgents.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Belarus officials
cracked down on the news media, deporting some foreign journalists
and revoking the accreditation of many local journalists.
   (SSFC, 8/30/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Brazil registered
another 758 novel coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and
41,350 new cases. The nation has now registered 120,262 coronavirus
deaths and 3,846,153 confirmed cases.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, In northern a
two-story restaurant collapsed during a local resident's 80th
birthday celebration, leaving 29 people dead in Shanxi province.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, It was reported
that attackers armed with knives, some knowledge of their prey and a
large dose of cruelty, are going after horses and ponies in pastures
across France in what may be ritual mutilations.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, France reported
5,453 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The Tour de France
race began in unusual conditions.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Berlin police
broke up a mass protest against coronavirus curbs and arrested 300
after demonstrators failed to keep their distance and wear masks as
instructed.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, India-based
Reliance said it would pay 3.4 billion for most of the Future Group,
founded by Kishore Biyani (b.1961).
   (Econ., 9/5/20, p.55)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, India reported
76,472 new coronavirus cases, slightly lower than the record
breaking numbers of the past couple of days, but extending a run
that has made the country's outbreak currently the world's worst.
The death toll rose by 1,021 to 62,550. India has reported a total
of 3.46 million cases during the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Indonesian police
detained dozens of men in a raid on a gay party at a hotel in
Jakarta. Nine people were arrested iunder a pronography law and 47
others released.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, It was reported
that Lebanese security forces have arrested three Egyptian men
wanted in their home country on charges of involvement in an alleged
gang rape at a luxury Cairo hotel six years ago. Authorities soon
detained possible witnesses and some of their acquaintances, who
could face separate charges under the country’s vague morality laws.
   (AP, 8/30/20)(AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Malaysia extended
its pandemic movement restrictions until the end of the year. The
country has recorded more than 9,000 cases with 125 deaths.
   (SSFC, 8/30/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Thousands of
people marched through the Mauritian capital, Port Louis, in protest
at the authorities' handling of a massive oil spill, and the
discovery of at least 40 dead dolphins. Dead fish, turtles, whales
and crabs were also observed.
   (BBC, 8/30/20)(SSFC, 9/6/20, p.B10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, The Philippines
reported 3,637 new coronavirus infections and 94 more deaths, taking
its tally to 213,131 cases and a toll of 3,419. Nearly a third of
the Philippine deaths have been reported over the past 15 days.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Ukraine registered
a record 2,481 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up
from 2,438 in the previous day. The country has so far reported a
total of 116,987 infections and 2,492 deaths from the virus.
   (Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, The United Nations
voiced alarm over what it called “a dramatic turn of events” in
Libya's civil war, after a power struggle between leaders of the
Tripoli-based government surfaced in the wake of anti-corruption
protests.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, It was reported
that some people in Zimbabwe are calling themselves “keyboard
warriors” as they take to graffiti and social media to pressure a
government that promised reform but is now accused of gross human
rights abuses.
   (AP, 8/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, President Trump
and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) traded harsh criticism of each
other over violent clashes between anti-racism protesters and
conservative counter protesters, a day after the fatal shooting of a
member of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer. Patriot Prayer's
founder, Joey Gibson, has held pro-Trump rallies repeatedly in
Portland and other cities since 2016. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
announced that state police will patrol the nightly protests in
Portland with help from officers from neighboring communities.
   (The Week, 8/31/20)(AP, 8/30/20)(SFC, 9/1/20,
p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, The Trump
administration blocked the scheduled removal of former Colombian
paramilitary boss Salvatore Mancuso to Italy and now intends to
deport him to his South American homeland, where he’s been found
responsible for hundreds of war crimes.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Wildfires continue
to burn from California to Minnesota, leaving millions of people to
cough and wheeze through the toxic air. Sporadic power outages and
the relentless heat have made life indoors almost equally
intolerable.
   (NY Times, 8/30/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, California to
date had 702,667 cases of coronavirus and 12,925 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 84,911 cases and 1,123 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 5,990,965 with the death toll at 183,005. Global
confirmed cases topped 25 million.
   (sfist.com, 8/30/20)(SFC, 8/31/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, St. Louis police
officer Tamarris L. Bohannon (29) died after being shot in the head
by a barricaded gunman on the city's south side. A suspect (43) was
taken into custody.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Wisconsin Governor
Tony Evers (D) urged President Trump to "reconsider" his plan to
visit the city of Kenosha as protests continue over the shooting of
Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white police officer.
   (The Week, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, United Airlines
announced that it was permanently eliminating a $200 fee for
changing tickets for domestic travel, a move expected to put
pressure on other carriers to drop the fees too.
   (The Week, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, New coronavirus
cases in Australia's state of Victoria returned to the triple
digits.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In Belarus tens of
thousands of demonstrators gathered in Minsk beginning the fourth
week of daily protests demanding the resignation of the country's
authoritarian president after an election they call rigged gave him
a sixth term in office.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said its Farxiga drug improved survival chances for
patients suffering from kidney disease, underscoring the medicine's
role outside its established field of diabetes.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, China's lockdown
in Xinjiang province entered its 45th day. It was in response to 826
cases reported in Xinjiang since mid-July, China’s largest caseload
since the initial outbreak. The Xinjiang lockdown is especially
striking because of its severity, and because there hasn’t been a
single new case of local transmission in over a week. China reported
17 new COVID-19 cases, up from 9 reported a day earlier.
   (AP, 8/30/20)(Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Coronavirus cases
in Colombia surpassed 600,000 as deaths from the virus approach
19,400, ahead of the end to more than five months of lockdown.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, France's defence
minister said a senior French military officer has been charged with
espionage for allegedly passing top secret documents to Russian
intelligence. He was detained by France’s General Directorate for
Internal Security (DGSI), the equivalent of MI5, 10 days ago.
   (The Telegraph, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, India registered
78,761 new coronavirus cases, the biggest single-day spike in the
world since the pandemic began, just as the government began easing
restrictions to help the battered economy. So far, more than 63,000
Indians have died from the disease.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Indonesia reported
2,858 new infections. Total number of cases now stood at 172,053,
with 7,343 COVID-19 fatalities. The Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute
for Molecular Biology said a more infectious mutation of the new
coronavirus has been found in Indonesia. The D614G strain, which the
WHO said was identified in February and has been circulating in
Europe and the Americas, has also been found in neighboring
Singapore and Malaysia.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, The Israeli
military struck militant targets in Gaza early today in response to
continued launches of explosives-laden balloons out of the Hamas-run
territory.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In northern Italy
hurricane-force winds toppled a tree during a storm, killing two
children in a tent at a campground.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Italian officials
hastily chartered more ferries and put other measures into place to
fight severe overcrowding at migrant centers on the tiny island of
Lampedusa, where the arrival of 450 migrants on a rickety fishing
boat triggered protests by islanders. A fire triggered an explosion
on smuggling boat off of southern Italy, tossing 21 migrants into
the sea and killing at least 3 of them.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Jordan reported 73
new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily tally since the start of
the outbreak.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Hassan Nasrallah,
the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah, said his group supports the
formation of a government that would be able to improve economic
conditions in the crisis-stricken country and undertake major
reforms.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Voters in
Montenegro cast ballots in tense parliamentary elections that pit
the long-ruling pro-Western party against the opposition seeking
closer ties with Serbia and Russia. The pro-Serb and Russian
opposition groups claimed victory against the ruling pro-Western
party.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, A $27 million
smuggling operation got sniffed out before the MV Norma H II Voyage
818 could reach the US Virgin Islands. A K-9 agent sniffed 34 cargo
boxes of vacuum-packed cash in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before leaving
for St. Thomas.
   (Miami Herald, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In Russia
opposition activist Yegor Zhukov (22) was hospitalized after what
supporters said was a vicious attack by two men outside his house in
Moscow.
   (The Telegraph, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, South Korea
reported its 17th day of triple-digit rises in coronavirus
infections. The national tally rose to 19,699 cases of the new
coronavirus and 323 COVID-19 deaths.
   (Reuters, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Sudan reported
that rising floodwaters have hit the capital of Khartoum hard in
recent days, as weeks of heavy flooding nationwide left at least 90
people dead and destroying tens of thousands of homes.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In Thailand about
1,000 people, calling themselves "Thai Pakdee" (Loyal Thai),
gathered in a Bangkok sports stadium to defend the country's
monarchy. Anti-government demonstrations across the country have
gathered momentum posing a challenge to the rule of PM Prayuth
Chan-ocha.
   (SFC, 8/31/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, The UN
International Labor Organization said new labor rules in the
energy-rich nation of Qatar “effectively dismantles” the country's
long-criticized “kafala” employment system. As of now, migrant
workers can change jobs before the end of their contracts without
obtaining the permission of their current employers. The ILO also
said Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari
riyals ($275) for workers, which will take effect some six months
after the law is published in the country's official gazette.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In Yemen the
Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen's government reportedly foiled
two attacks launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, including an
explosives-laden boat dispatched into the Red Sea near international
shipping lanes.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Zimbabwe's parks
authorities said they are investigating the death of 11 elephants in
a forest in the west of the country. The carcasses of the elephants
were discovered August 28 in Pandamasue Forest.
   (AP, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, A US appeals court
overturned the Trump administration's July 2019 rule that sought to
suspend a regulation that more than doubled penalties for automakers
failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements.
   (Reuters, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, In southern
California two deputies fatally shot a black man who scuffled with
them after they tried to stop him for riding a bicycle in an
unlawful manner. Dijon Kizzee (29) had dropped a bundle of clothes
that included a handgun. A crowd gathered and marched to the
sheriff’s station after the afternoon shooting, demanding justice.
An autopsy report later said Kizzee was shot 16 times in the front
and back.
   (AP, 8/31/20)(SFC, 9/2/20, p.A6)(AP, 10/2/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, California to
date had 710,366 cases of coronavirus and 13,011 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 85,939 cases and 1,125 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,027,111 with the death toll at 183,499.
   (sfist.com, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Tom Seaver (75),
one of baseball’s greatest right-handed power pitchers, died in
Calistoga, Ca. The Hall of Famer who won 311 games for four major
league teams, most notably the Mets, whom he led from last place to
a surprise world championship in his first three seasons.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Seaver)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Police in
Portland, Oregon, declared another riot late today after people
broke windows, burglarized a business and lit a fire in an occupied
apartment building. Officers reported seeing rocks and paint
balloons thrown at them, and eventually made 19 arrests as they
worked to disperse the crowd.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Argentina said it
had restructured 99% of eligible bonds in its debt deal after almost
all bondholders got on board, a major win for the country, which is
mired in recession and default.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Belarus
authorities jailed factory strike organizer Anatoly Bokun for 15
days and detained a leading opposition activist as part of a
methodical effort to suppress weeks of protests against Pres.
Lukashenko.
   (SFC, 9/1/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, It was reported
that British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline and partner Vir Biotechnology
have started testing their experimental antibody on early-stage
COVID-19 patients, entering the race to find a winner in a promising
class of antiviral drugs to combat the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, The Baltic states
of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania slapped their own travel sanctions
on 30 top officials in Belarus, including Pres. Alexander
Lukashenko, in response to a brutal crackdown against protesters who
say the Aug. 9 presidential election was rigged.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, An Ethiopian
diplomat said his country has asked the US for clarification on a
report that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has approved cutting up
to $130 million in aid to Ethiopia because of the country’s dispute
with Egypt and Sudan over a massive dam it is building on the Blue
Nile. The planned cut was reported by Foreign Policy on August 27.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Finland's health
authorities launched the country's own and long-waited contact
tracing smartphone app to combat the spread of COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Police in Hong
Kong used pepper spray and made several arrests as dozens of
protesters gathered at a subway station to mark the anniversary of a
violent clash last year that stirred accusations of police brutality
during anti-government rallies.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, India reported
78,512 novel coronavirus infections, more than any other country but
fewer than the previous day when it posted the world's biggest,
single-day tally, as authorities looked to open more sectors of the
economy. Coronavirus deaths went up by 971 in the past 24 hours,
taking the tally to 64,469.
   (Reuters, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, In India Pranab
Mukherjee (b.1935), former president (2012-2017), died in New Delhi
of COVID-19. He had been on a ventilator for the last three weeks.
   (Econ., 9/5/20, p.32)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, An Israeli
airliner made a historic first flight from Tel Aviv to the United
Arab Emirates, emphasizing new diplomatic ties between the two
countries.
   (The Telegraph, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Israel’s military
reportedly fired missiles late today on areas south of the capital
Damascus killing two soldiers, wounding seven and causing material
damage.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Mustapha Adib,
Lebanon's ambassador to Germany, was appointed by the president to
form a new government, after he secured 90 votes among the
legislators in the 128-member parliament.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, The World Bank
said that the massive explosion in Beirut earlier this month that
killed and injured thousands of people has caused up to $4.6 billion
in physical damage.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, One of Lebanon's
most prominent philanthropists and a pioneer defender of the
country's heritage, Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane (98), died from
injuries she suffered in the massive Aug. 4 explosion that ripped
through Beirut.
   (AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Gaza’s Hamas
rulers said they have reached an agreement through international
mediators to end the latest round of cross-border violence with
Israel. Under the deal, Hamas is to halt the launches of
explosives-laden balloons and rocket fire into Israel, while Israel
said it will ease a blockade that has been tightened in recent
weeks.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, In the southern
Philippines gunmen blocked a group of motorcycle riders, then opened
fire killing nine people, mostly farmers, before fleeing in a van in
Kabacan, Cotabato province.
   (SFC, 9/1/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Romania announced
an easing of coronavirus restrictions. The country has confirmed
more than 87,500 cases and 3,600 deaths.
   (SFC, 9/1/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Rwanda police
announced that Paul Rusesabagina (66), portrayed in the film “Hotel
Rwanda” as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from
the country's 1994 genocide, has been arrested on terror charges.
Police said he is suspected to be the founder, leader, sponsor and
member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits including the
Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD). Rusesabagina's
daughter later said her father was kidnapped in Dubai.
   (AP, 8/31/20)(AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Sudan’s
transitional authorities and a rebel alliance signed a peace deal
following months of tortuous negotiations aimed at ending the
country’s decades-long civil wars, but other powerful armed groups
have thus far declined to join them.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Swiss-based Nestle
said it will pay $2 billion to buy the remaining stake in Aimmune
Therapeutics Inc, gaining full ownership of the first US-approved
peanut allergy treatment which has struggled with a slow launch due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
   (Reuters, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Ugandan singer and
opposition politician Bobi Wine said he faces “a pattern of
repression and suppression” seeking to derail his bid to challenge
the country's long-time president in elections next year.
   (AP, 8/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, The WHO warned
that the risk of further spread of the vaccine-derived polio across
central Africa and the Horn of Africa was “high," noting the
large-scale population movements in the region. A new polio outbreak
in Sudan is linked to an ongoing vaccine-sparked epidemic in Chad.
More than a dozen African countries are currently battling outbreaks
of polio caused by the virus, including Angola, Congo, Nigeria and
Zambia. Last week the UN health agency declared the African
continent free of the wild polio virus.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Ryan Cohen, the
former boss of Chewy, an online pet food store, began amassing a
large stake in GameStop, a brick-and-mortar purveyor of video games.
In November he urged the board to invest in e-commerce and soon
joined the board. The share value of GameStop rose and became a
subject on a Reddit forum that drove the share price even higher.
   (Econ., 1/30/21, p.60)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Afghanistan's Pres.
Ashraf Ghani revealed that in the preceding six months over 12,000
soldiers, police and civilians had been killed by the Taliban.
   (Econ., 11/21/20, p.33)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Argentina's Pres.
Alberto Fernandez signend a law expanding the country's territory by
1.7m square km.
   (Econ., 10/10/20, p.30)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, In Colombia illegal
groups carried out 15 massacres this month, mainly of people they
suspected of sympathizing with rivals.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.33)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Egypt's transport
ministry said $8.3 billion had been allocated to complete 1,000
bridges and tunnels by 2024.
   (Econ., 10/10/20, p.40)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Myanmar government
troops laid waste to more than 20 villages in Rakhine state. Two
government soldiers later deserted and in 2020 confessed to
participating in massacres targeting the Rohingya.
   (Econ., 9/12/20, p.32)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Pakistani
investigative journalist reported that the family of Asim Saleem
Bajwa, a retired general how now heads the China Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC) Authority, had amassed business interests worth tens
of millions of dollars as he rose through the ranks. None of the
holdings in question had been mentioned in the general's official
declaration of assets.
   (Econ., 10/31/20, p.37)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, In Siberia the
remains of a woolly rhino, dating to the late Pleistocene era, was
found at a river in the diamond-producing region of Yakutia complete
with all its limbs, some of its organs, its tusk, and even its wool.
   (AP, 12/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan announced a major natural gas discovery off Turkey’s
other coast, in the Black Sea. The finding was estimated at 320
billion cubic meters, and there is a strong expectation that the
figure will be revised upwards as a result of additional exploratory
drilling.
   (Bloomberg, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Pres. Trump
traveled to Kenosha, Wis., to offer support for law enforcement and
to tour shops damaged by rioting. During the visit, Trump did not
mention the name of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man shot by the
police last week, nor did the president speak with his family.
   (NY Times, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, A US appeals court
granted President Donald Trump's request to delay Manhattan's
district attorney from accessing his tax returns in connection with
a criminal probe of his business practices.
   (Reuters, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention issued a sweeping nationwide order
temporarily halting millions of US renters from being evicted, in a
bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 9/1/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, California to date
had 713,921 cases of coronavirus and 13,049 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 86,669 cases and 1,135 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,070,050 with the death toll at 184,517.
   (sfist.com, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Rep. Joe Kennedy
III fell short in his bid to unseat incumbent Massachusetts Sen. Ed
Markey, ending a fractious Democratic primary by becoming the first
member of the Kennedy family to lose an election in the state.
   (Yahoo News, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Fabiana
Pierre-Louis (40) was sworn in as the first Black female justice for
the New Jersey Supreme Court.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabiana_Pierre-Louis)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, The Afghan
government said Afghan citizens will soon have their mothers’ names
printed along with their fathers’ on their national identification
cards, after years of campaigning by activists to do away with the
shame associated with female names in public.
   (NY Times, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, In Austria a new
law went into effect allowing descendants from Jewish refugees
expelled from Austria under Nazi rule to apply for Austrian
citizenship.
   (The Week, 8/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Authorities in
Belarus detained scores of protesters as university students took to
the streets of Minsk on the first day of classes to demand that
authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko resign after an
election the opposition has denounced as rigged.
   (AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca Plc said its Imfinzi medication has been approved in the
EU to treat an aggressive form of lung cancer in previously
untreated adult patients.
   (Reuters, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Britain, China,
France, Germany, and Russia, dubbed the "4+1," defeated US efforts
to restore international sanctions on Iran.
   (AFP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, The French
satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished cartoons about the
Prophet Muhammad and Islam that prompted a deadly attack on the
magazine’s offices in 2015. The move coincides with the start of a
terrorism trial connected to the attack.
   (NY Times, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, French drugmaker
Sanofi said the rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara has failed as a
COVID-19 treatment, following a similar flop of a Roche product.
   (AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, A thousand police
officers in Germany raided the homes of 50 people as part of a
nationwide crackdown on the online sharing and distribution of child
pornography. Investigators seized around 2,000 phones, computers and
other devices upon which images were stored.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Hong Kong began a
free universal coronavirus testing program.
   (SFC, 9/1/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Hungary closed its
borders to most foreigners as coronavirus cases climbed.
   (SFC, 9/5/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, A power grid
shareholding deal was signed between Laos state-owned Electricite du
Laos (EdL) and China Southern Power Grid Co. China is Laos’s biggest
creditor, and the deal will bind the landlocked, mountainous country
of seven million people closer to its giant neighbor.
   (Reuters, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Philippine Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte publicly ordered the country's top customs official
to shoot to kill drug smugglers.
   (SFC, 9/2/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, A Philippine court
ordered the early release, based on good conduct, of US Marine
Joseph Scott Pemberton, convicted in the 2014 murder of a
transgender Filipino Jennifer Laude. The order drew protests from
her family and lawyers. On Sept. 7 Pres. Duterte pardoned Pemberton.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A2)(SFC, 9/8/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Russia became the
4th country to surpass 1 million coronavirus infections as
authorities reported 4,729 new cases. Lockdown restrictions have
been lifted in the majority of the country’s regions. Russia has a
total of 1,000,048 reported cases and 17,299 deaths.
   (AP, 9/1/20)(SFC, 9/2/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Saudi Arabia said
Lt. Gen. Fahad bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, its top military commander
in its yearslong war in Yemen, and his son, Prince Abdulaziz bin
Fahad bin Turki, have been removed from their posts along with other
officials as part of an anti-corruption investigation. The kingdom
is investigating four other officials as well, all on the orders of
84-year-old King Salman.
   (AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, In Thailand a panel
appointed by PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said that a there was a conspiracy
involving government officials, lawyers and a prosecutor to impeded
the 2012 fatal hit-and-run case against Vorayuth Yoovidhya, an heir
to the Red Bull energy drink fortune.
   (SFC, 9/2/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Turkey's Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu said that Mahmut Ozden, the Islamic State
group’s top leader in Turkey, has been detained in an "ongoing"
operation.
   (The Telegraph, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Ukraine reported
2,088 new coronavirus cases. PM Denys Shmygal said the number of new
cases in Ukraine will continue to rise in September and could reach
3,000 a day by the end of this month. The country has reported a
total of 123,303 infections and 2,605 deaths from the virus.
   (AP, 9/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, President Trump
suggested that people in North Carolina stress-test the security of
their elections systems by voting twice. Voting twice is illegal.
   (NY Times, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, President Trump
ordered federal agencies in a memo released today to find ways to
slash funding to Democrat-run cities roiled by protests against
systemic racism in policing, including Portland, Seattle,
Washington, and New York.
   (The Week, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Republican
President Donald Trump's re-election campaign sued Steve Bullock,
the Democratic governor of Montana, in an attempt to halt an
expansion of mail-in voting in the run up to November's election.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo announced that senior Chinese diplomats based in the US
will now be required to seek permission before meeting with local
government officials or visiting university campuses.
   (South China Morning Post, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The United States
said that it will not pay some $80 million it currently owes to the
Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) and will instead
redirect the money to help pay its United Nations bill in New York.
The United States currently owes the WHO some $18 million for
financial year 2019 and $62 million for financial year 2020.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The US Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the warrantless telephone dragnet
that secretly collected millions of Americans’ telephone records
violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and may well have
been unconstitutional. This came seven years after former National
Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the
mass surveillance of Americans’ telephone records.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office said the US government debt will exceed
the size of the economy in the 2021 federal fiscal year for the
first time since WW II.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In Washington DC a
police officer, who has not been publicly identified, shot Deon Kay
(18), an armed Black teenager, to death in the city’s Southeast
section. Officers were called to the area because of a report of a
man with a gun.
   (NBC News, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, A police officer in
San Leandro, California, was charged with voluntary manslaughter in
the fatal shooting of a Black man wielding a baseball bat inside a
Walmart. Officer Jason Fletcher shot and killed 33-year-old Steven
Demarco Taylor on April 18.
   (CBS News, 9/3/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, California to date
had 718,340 cases of coronavirus and 13,233 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 87,657 cases and 1,162 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,111,485 with the death toll at 185,669.
   (sfist.com, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, A Mississippi
commission voted to recommend new state flag featuring a magnolia to
replace an old one seen as racist. Voters in November will make the
final decision.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In New Jersey Karim
Elkorany (37), who worked as a telecommunications specialist in
Iraq, was arrested on two counts of making false statements to the
FBI. The former UN official was accused of drugging and sexually
assaulting several women.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In New Jersey
Princeton Univ. Pres. Christopher Eisgruber issued an open letter
admitting that the school's educational system is and for decades
has been racist.
   (SSFC, 9/20/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The family of
Daniel Prude (41), a Black man from Rochester, N.Y., released
graphic footage from a March incident in which officers placed a
hood on him and pressed his face into the ground for two minutes.
Prude died March 30 after he was taken off life support, seven days
after the encounter with police in Rochester. Dozens of protesters
gathered in the streets of Rochester after body camera footage
became public.
   (NY Times, 9/3/20)(AP, 9/3/20)(The Week, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Ford Motor Co said
it is targeting the elimination of 1,400 US salaried jobs by year
end as part of a multiyear $11 billion restructuring.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, United Airlines
said it is preparing to furlough 16,370 workers on Oct. 1 as the
coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate the airline industry.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Australia's
Victoria state extended its state of emergency for another six
months as it reported 90 new coronavirus cases and six deaths over
the last 24 hours.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The British
government re-imposed local COVID-19 restrictions on parts of the
Greater Manchester area in northern England, just as they were being
lifted, the latest in a series of abrupt reversals.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In Belarus dozens
of journalists gathered outside a police station in Minsk to protest
the detention of colleagues covering a demonstration against the
nation's authoritarian president and an election the opposition sees
as rigged.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In Cambodia Kaing
Guek Eav (77), the former schoolteacher known as Duch who became the
most notorious killer during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in
the 1970s, died at a hospital in Phnom Penh.
   (NY Times, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, It was reported
that Congo is seeing an upsurge in cases of the plague, as the vast
Central African nation also battles outbreaks of COVID-19 and Ebola.
Since June, Congo has recorded at least 65 cases of the plague,
including at least 10 deaths, in the eastern Ituri province.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Egypt's Interior
Ministry said local police have killed at least seven suspected
criminals in separate firefights in the southern province of Aswan.
The ministry did not elaborate on when the shootouts took place.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, French President
Emmanuel Macron met Iraqi leaders on his first visit to Baghdad
where he stressed the war-scarred country must assert its
"sovereignty" despite being caught up in US-Iran tensions.
   (AFP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, French drugmaker
Sanofi and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline said they had started a
clinical trial of their protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate,
and aimed to reach the final testing stage by December.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The German
government said Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was
poisoned with the same type of Soviet-era nerve agent that British
authorities identified in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Israel recorded a
record-high 3,000 new cases in a day as the country’s coronavirus
czar is set to submit a list of more detailed recommended
restrictions where infection rates have been highest.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, A livestock ship
carrying 42 crew members sank during rough weather off a southern
Japanese island. One Filipino crew member was rescued. The
11,947-ton Gulf Livestock 1 ship was carrying 5,800 cows west of
Amami Oshima in the East China Sea when it sent a distress call
early today in seas roughened by Typhoon Maysak.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The top UN official
for Libya warned that the coronavirus pandemic in the war-ravaged
country appears to be “spiraling out of control".
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, LGBT rights
activist Mireya Rodríguez Lemus was found dead in her home in the
Chihuahua town of Aquiles Serdan. Official identification of the
body was not made until Sept. 8. She was at least the seventh rights
activist killed in Mexico so far in 2020.
   (AP, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Saudi Arabia
announced that flights to and from the United Arab Emirates “from
all countries” will now be able to use its airspace — a statement
apparently allowing flyovers by Israel following a deal to normalize
UAE-Israel relations.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Singapore health
authorities said they have detected new COVID-19 clusters at foreign
worker dormitories previously found to be clear of the infection,
highlighting the challenge in containing the spread of the highly
infectious virus. Foreign workers accounted for 94% of nearly 58,000
cases in the city-state.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.40)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, A Spanish court
ordered the heirs of Gen. Francisco Franco to hand over to the state
a 19th-century palace used by the late dictator as a summer retreat.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Syrian state media
said air defenses opened fire late today on missiles launched by
Israeli warplanes at a military airbase in the central province of
Homs, shooting down some of them.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Tunisian lawmakers
approved Hichem Mechichi as the country's new prime minister after
pressing him for 11 hours over how he will bring the country out of
an economic and social crisis that has driven a rise in migration to
Europe and been worsened by the virus pandemic.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Turkey's health
ministry said the country is experiencing a second peak of the first
wave of the coronavirus. More than 273,000 people have tested
positive and 6,462 have died.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Ukraine registered
a record 2,495 new coronavirus cases and 51 related deaths in the
past 24 hours. The country has so far reported a total of 125,798
infections and 2,656 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The United Arab
Emirates recorded over 700 new coronavirus infections, its highest
daily increase in more than three months. The UAE has recorded
71,540 infections and 387 deaths from COVID-19.
   (AP, 9/2/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Speaking at a rally
in Pennsylvania, Pres. Donald Trump mocked Joe Biden for wearing a
mask and once again encouraged his supporters to try to vote twice
if they vote by mail.
   (NY Times, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, A new report in
"The Atlantic" detailed multiple instances of President Donald Trump
making disparaging remarks about members of the US military who have
been captured or killed, including referring to the American war
dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018 as
“losers” and “suckers.” Trump said that the story is “totally
false”.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Arkansas reported
its largest single-day increase in deaths from the coronavirus. 27
new deaths brought the state's total to 841, while 615 new cases
brought that total 62,112.
   (SFC, 9/4/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Los Angeles City
declared a fiscal emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic
paving the way to furlough aboyt 15,000 employees.
   (SFC, 9/4/20, p.A6)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, California to date
had 723,110 cases of coronavirus and 13,396 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 88,485 cases and 1,192 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,146,223 with the death toll at 186,693.
   (sfist.com, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, In New York seven
police officers involved in the suffocation death of Daniel Prude in
Rochester were suspended by the city's mayor, who said she was
misled for months about the circumstances of the fatal encounter.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Law enforcement
agents near Lacey, Wa., shot and killed an antifa supporter when
they went to arrest him in the fatal shooting of a right-wing
activist in Portland. Officers reported that the suspect,
48-year-old Michael Forest Reinoehl, was armed. The arrest attempt
came shortly after Reinoehl gave an interview to VICE News in which
he appeared to acknowledge having killed Aaron “Jay” Danielson, 39,
on August 29. It was later reported that four officers had fired
over 30 rounds after they cornered Reinoehl.
   (AP, 9/3/20)(NY Times, 9/4/20)(SFC, 10/15/20,
p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Juul Labs Inc said
it would make a "significant" cut to its global workforce and
explore pulling out of some European and Asia-Pacific markets to
save cash and weather a tumultuous period for the e-cigarette
industry. The company, partly owned by Marlboro maker Altria Group
Inc, is planning to lay off about 1,200 employees, more than half
its workforce.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, QuantumScape, the
10-year-old Silicon Valley battery startup backed by Volkswagen,
said it plans to go public through a reverse merger with Kensington
Capital Acquisition Corp with an enterprise value of $3.3 billion.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)  Â
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, It was reported
that the US is cutting aid to Ethiopia over a controversial mega dam
being built on a tributary of the River Nile. The move was triggered
by Ethiopia's move to start filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance
Dam before reaching agreement with Egypt and Sudan.
   (BBC, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Boston-based
healthtech startup Biofourmis said it has closed a $100 million
series C funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund 2,
as the Japanese firm extends its bets on a sector growing through
the coronavirus outbreak. Biofourmis uses a wearable biosensor to
remotely monitor patients for changes in their health.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Belarus President
Alexander Lukashenko reshuffled his top lieutenants in an apparent
attempt to strengthen his rule amid weeks of protests pushing for
his resignation.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Hurricane Nana made
landfall in Belize, pelting a relatively sparsely populated stretch
of the country's coast with heavy rain and wind, before weakening to
a tropical storm while pushing across Guatemala.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, AstraZeneca Plc
signed a manufacturing deal with privately held Albany Molecular
Research Inc to produce millions of doses of the British drugmaker's
experimental coronavirus vaccine annually.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, It was reported
that Lee Young-guk (57) has published the book “I was Kim Jong-il’s
bodyguard.” Here he claims that he began a ten-year stint in the
security team of current leader Kim Jong-un’s late father in 1978,
after which he became a military adviser from 1988 to 1991. Mr. Lee
faced, now in Canada, faced deportation to South Korea.
   (The Telegraph, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, It was reported
that ethnic Mongolians are demonstrating their anger in China's
Inner Mongolia province against a new bilingual education policy
that they say is endangering the Mongolian language. Riot police
broke up protests and parents were ordered to send children to
school or else be declared ineligible for government subsidies or
bank loans.
   (SFC, 9/3/20, p.A2)(Econ., 9/5/20, p.35)(Econ.,
1/30/21, p.34)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, The Czech Republic
reported 650 new COVID-19 cases, its highest number for a single day
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as infections gathered
speed amid relaxed government restrictions. Overall cases since
March rose to 25,773. The country has registered 425 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Denmark said it had
registered 179 new COVID-19 infections in the past day, the highest
rate since late April. Denmark has registered 626
coronavirus-related deaths since March.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Ethiopia’s
government said it is “thankful” to Saudi Arabia for accepting
Ethiopian migrants entering the country, but it barely commented on
the squalid conditions they face in some Saudi detention centers,
after a media report showed migrants crowded in bare rooms pleading
for assistance.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, The French
government unveiled a $118 billion recovery plan aimed at creating
jobs, saving struggling businesses and yanking the country out of
its worst economic slump since WWII.
   (SFC, 9/4/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, In western Germany
five children were found dead in an apartment in Solingen, with
local media reporting they were murdered by their mother who later
tried to kill herself.
   (The Telegraph, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, In Jamaica PM
Andrew Hollness (b.1972) won a 2nd term.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Holness)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.34)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, As Mexico struggles
to pay a water debt to the United States, President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador said he might personally appeal to President Donald
Trump for clemency, or invite United Nations experts to audit water
payments.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, In Nepal thousands
of people clashed with riot police in Lalitpur as they defied a
government coronavirus shutdown to take part in a religious
festival.
   (SFC, 9/4/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Russia said the
West should not rush to judge it over the poisoning of Kremlin
critic Alexei Navalny and said there were no grounds to accuse it of
the crime, as talk in the West of punishing Moscow intensified.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, A panel of judges
in Slovakia acquitted businessman Marian Kocner and one
co-defendant, accused of masterminding the 2018 slayings of an
investigative journalist who had written about him and the
journalist's fiancee. A third defendant was convicted and sentenced
to 25 years in prison. Within hours, prosecutors appealed the
verdicts in the country's Supreme Court.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, South African
healthcare workers protested against poor working conditions and
urged the government to end corruption in the purchase of COVID-19
personal protective equipment.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Typhoon Maysak
ripped through South Korea’s southern and eastern coasts with
tree-snapping winds and flooding rains, knocking out power to more
than 270,000 homes and leaving at least one person dead.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, A Filipino crew
member was killed aboard the tanker ship MT New Diamond when a
boiler exploded in the engine room. The ship was drifting off the
coast of Sri Lanka as fire fighting efforts continued. After 2 days
the fire was brought under control and the tanker, carrying nearly 2
million barrels of crude oil, was towed further out to sea. The
owner of the ship later agreed to pay Sri Lanka $2.3 million for its
help in extinguishing the blaze.
   (SFC, 9/5/20, p.A2)(SSFC, 9/6/20, p.A6)(SSFC,
9/27/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, A Syrian opposition
war monitor said airstrikes on eastern Syria, believed to have been
carried out by Israeli warplanes early today, killed 16
Iranian-backed fighters.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Thailand reported
its first domestic coronavirus transmission in more than 100 days,
after a man recently jailed and with no overseas travel history
tested positive in a Bangkok prison during a routine check for new
inmates.
   (Reuters, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, President Donald
Trump announced that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to normalize
economic ties as part of US-brokered talks that include Belgrade
moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and mutual recognition
between Israel and Kosovo.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, US Vice President
Mike Pence said the Trump administration has reached a deal with
lawmakers in Congress to ensure the government is funded past Sept.
30, removing the threat of a near-term government shutdown.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, The United States'
largest police union endorsed President Donald Trump's re-election
bid, boosting the Republican's message that he is the candidate of
"law and order" amid US protests against police brutality and racial
injustice.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, A US federal judge
ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas
for immigrants from underrepresented countries, partially reversing
a pandemic-related freeze on a wide range of immigrant and temporary
visas.
   (SFC, 9/8/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, A US federal judge
ruled that two American men accused of smuggling Nissan Motor Co.
Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan while he was awaiting trial on
financial misconduct charges can be extradited. The final decision
rests with the State Department.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, A US federal judge
temporarily barred Detroit police from the use of striking weapons,
chokeholds, chemical agents and rubber bullets against
demonstrators, medical support personnel and legal observers in the
city's ongoing anti-racism protests. The order will be in effect for
at least 14 days.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, California to date
had 729,876 cases of coronavirus and 13,611 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 89,308 cases and 1,204 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,199,998 with the death toll at 187,750.
   (sfist.com, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In California the
fast-spreading Creek Fire began late today near the Mammoth Pool
Reservoir about 50 miles south of Yosemite National Park in the
Sierra National Forest. At least 63 of the more than 150 people
trapped by the massive fire were rescued by military helicopter.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Mail balloting in
the presidential election began as North Carolina started sending
out more than 600,000 ballots to voters — responding to a massive
spike in requests that has played out across the country as voters
look for a safer way to cast ballots during the pandemic.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Mississippi dropped
the charges against Curtis Flowers. He was the victim of a campaign
by Doug Evans, a white local prosecutor, to convict him for a 1996
quadruple murder, despite no good evidence tying Flowers to the
crime.
   (NY Times, 10/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In Oregon law
enforcement declared an unlawful assembly late today and arrested 27
people after protesters marched through the streets of Portland on
to a police building, where officers stood waiting outside.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In Texas a San
Antonio police officer and a security guard fatally shot a Black
shoplifting suspect after he stabbed the officer in the face.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Disney premiered
its Mulan film on Disney+ for a premium fee in countries where the
service had launched. Disney had spent 5 years and $200 million on
the live-action remake of its 22-year old animation. Mulan's world
premiere was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 9,
2020.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(2020_film))
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, It was reported
that US drugmaker AbbVie Inc will pay $180 million in upfront
payment to develop and sell Chinese biotech company I-Mab's cancer
drug.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Moderna Inc said it
has been asking sites that are conducting clinical trials of its
experimental coronavirus vaccine to focus on enrolling at-risk
minorities, even if that slows down the trial speed.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In Bangladesh an
underground gas pipeline at the Baitus Jalat Jame mosque exploded
during evening prayers outside Dhaka, leaving 16 Muslim worshipers
dead and dozens injured with critical burns. The death toll soon
rose to 33. Eight people were later arrested for alleged negligence.
   (AP, 9/4/20)(SFC, 9/7/20, p.A2)(SFC, 9/21/20,
p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In Belarus hundreds
of demonstrators rallied again in Minsk to protest the disputed
reelection of the nation's authoritarian president. Police dispersed
university students attempting to show solidarity with peers who
were detained earlier in the week. Police entered the State
Linguistics University in Minsk to disperse an action by students
who were expressing solidarity with classmates detained earlier.
Officers rounded up several participants.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Sviatlana
Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition challenger in Belarus’ disputed
presidential election, spoke to the UN Security Council and urged
the international community to impose sanctions on “the individuals
that committed electoral violations and crimes against humanity” and
take other measures to stop the violence against protesters.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Brazil’s health
ministry to date has confirmed more than 4 million cases of the
coronavirus disease and 125,000 deaths. President Jair Bolsonaro has
expressed opposition to administering vaccines that are yet to be
proven on Brazilian soil.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Britain appointed
Australia's former prime minister Tony Abbott (62) as a trade
adviser as it seeks to agree new post-Brexit deals. The appointment
sparked criticism from the opposition Labour party and campaign
groups due to his past use of sexist language, skepticism of
man-made climate change, and opposition to same-sex marriage.
   (AFP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Virgin Atlantic
announced 1,150 more job cuts due to the coronavirus crisis, saying
its 1.2 billion pound ($1.6 billion) rescue deal alone was not
enough to secure its future.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, A new investigation
into companies trading in the Chinese city of Dandong, on the border
with North Korea, shed a spotlight on Pyongyang’s global money
laundering networks and raised fresh questions about China’s
complicity in bypassing United Nations sanctions against Kim
Jong-un’s regime.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, French President
Emmanuel Macron criticized what he called “Islamic separatism” in
his country and those who seek French citizenship without accepting
France’s “right to commit blasphemy”.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, German biotech firm
Curevac said it had won nearly $300 million in government funding to
speed up work on its prototype COVID-19 vaccine and build capacity
to produce it at scale. Curevac's technology uses mRNA as a data
carrier to instruct the human body to produce proteins that can
fight against diseases.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Hungary has
registered 459 new cases of the coronavirus. The country has
registered 7,381 confirmed cases and 621 deaths.
   (SFC, 9/5/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, India reported a
daily jump of 83,341 coronavirus infections, taking its tally to
3.94 million. 1,096 people died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours,
taking the toll to 68,472.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, The International
Atomic Energy Agency reported (IAEA) that Iran continues to increase
its stockpile of enriched uranium in violation of limitations set in
the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, but has begun
providing access to sites where the country was suspected of having
stored or used undeclared nuclear material.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, NATO demanded
Russia cooperate with an international investigation into the
poisoning of Alexei Navalny, as EU diplomats cast doubt over whether
the bloc could impose sanctions on Moscow.
   (The Telegraph, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, New Zealand's PM
Jacinda Ardern retained the restrictions put in place to beat the
spread of the coronavirus until at least mid-September, as the
country reported a new death related to the virus.
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Russian scientists
have belatedly published first results from early trials into the
experimental Sputnik V vaccine. Developers of the vaccine said it
appeared to be safe and to prompt an antibody response in all 40
people tested in the second phase of the study within three weeks.
However, the authors noted that participants were only followed for
42 days, the study sample was small and there was no placebo or
control vaccine used.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, South Korea said it
will extend elevated social distancing restrictions for another week
after reporting 198 new coronavirus cases.
   (SFC, 9/5/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Sudanese
authorities declared their country a natural disaster area and
imposed a three-month state of emergency across the country after
rising floodwaters and heavy rainfall killed around 100 people and
inundated over 100,000 houses since late July.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Swiss-based Roche
Holding AG said a therapy it co-developed with Cambridge-based
Blueprint Medicines Corp was approved by the US health regulator for
the treatment of patients with a type of non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC).
   (Reuters, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, The United Nations
Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said it has begun withdrawing troops
from various camps around the country where tens of thousands of
civilians sought protection during its civil war.
   (AFP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, The UN said locusts
are threatening another part of Africa, with up to 7 million people
in the southern region facing further food insecurity. The outbreaks
of African migratory locusts in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and
Zimbabwe are not related to the huge outbreak of billions of desert
locusts that has affected East Africa for months.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Seven human rights
experts affiliated with the UN raised concerns over Hong Kong’s new
national security law in a letter addressed to Chinese authorities,
saying the legislation limits certain fundamental freedoms.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that there is a risk of
famine and widespread food insecurity in four countries affected by
conflict — Congo, Yemen, northeast Nigeria and South Sudan — and
that the lives of millions of people are in danger.
   (AP, 9/4/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, A federal judge
said the US Census Bureau for now must stop following a plan that
would have it winding down operations in order to finish the 2020
census at the end of September. The order stops the Census Bureau
from winding down operations until a court hearing is held on Sept.
17.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Joe Biden's
presidential campaign added former Democratic primary rival Pete
Buttigieg, along with senior officials who served under President
Barack Obama, to an expanded White House transition team.
   (Reuters, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Phoenix, Arizona,
set a high-temperature record of 115 degrees for the date as
emergency crews rescued several hikers at a popular recreation area
in the city.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Authentic won the
146th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. There were no
fans in the stands, the first time the race was run without
spectators in its long history.
   (The Week, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In Portland,
Oregon, demonstrations against police brutality continued for the
100th consecutive day. Portland police declared a riot Saturday
night after protesters hurled Molotov cocktails in the street,
sparking a fire. Over 50 people were arrested.
   (Reuters, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In Texas several
boats sank on Lake Travis near Austin. The vessels were out on the
lake for an event billed as a "Trump Boat Parade" in which boaters
displayed their support for President Trump. There were no injuries
or medical emergencies.
   (The Week, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In Albania a woman
wanted in Italy for trying to recruit people to join the Islamic
State group was arrested in Tirana. Lubjana Gjecaj (43) will be
extradited to Italy where a court in Milan has sentenced her to
three years in prison for association with terror groups.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, India’s coronavirus
caseload surpassed 4 million, deepening misery in the country's vast
hinterlands, where surges have crippled the underfunded health care
system. The 86,432 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India’s
total to 4,023,179. The health ministry also reported 1,089 deaths
for a total of 69,561.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Iran opened the new
school year after nearly seven months of closure. The reopening of
schools came as many expressed concern over a possible increase in
coronavirus infections, including medical professionals.
   (AP, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Thousands of
Israelis again gathered outside PM Benjamin Netanyahu's official
residence, calling for his resignation over his handling of the
coronavirus pandemic and corruption charges.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Mali's ex-President
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (75), who was ousted in a coup last month,
flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for medical treatment after
suffering a minor stroke.
   (BBC, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, It was reported
that Mexico’s General Attorney’s Office has found drones and the
components needed to weaponize them during a search and seizure
operation, and is now pursuing terrorism charges against the fast
rising Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
   (The Telegraph, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Mexico said it has
recorded 122,765 deaths more than would be expected during the
pandemic up to August in a report on excess mortality rates,
suggesting Mexico's true coronavirus toll could be much higher.
Mexico has recorded 67,326 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 629,409
cases, the world's fourth highest death toll from the virus.
   (Reuters, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In North Korea a
state newspaper reported that the ruling party is calling for the
punishment of officials whose failure to follow orders resulted in
"dozens of casualties" during typhoons that lashed the Korean
peninsula this week.
   (Reuters, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Portugal reported
486 new coronavirus cases, its biggest daily increase since the week
its lockdown was lifted in May. The increase brought the cumulative
total to 59,943, but just 1,838 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, In Senegal storm
began that brought nearly a year's worth of rainfall in a single
day, turning roads into rivers. At least six deaths were recorded
nationwide.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Sudan's
transitional government and the Sudan Liberation Movement-North
rebel group said they have agreed to resume peace talks.
   (SSFC, 9/6/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, The Washington Post
reported that US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for years reimbursed
workers of his New Breed Technologies company who made political
contributions to Republican candidates. DeJoy sold the business in
2014. North Carolina has called for an investigation into the
company.
   (SFC, 9/7/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, The crew aboard the
USS Nimitz sounded a “man overboard” alert, after being unable to
find the sailor aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier during
its patrol of the northern Arabian Sea.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, California Governor
Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in five counties due to
wildfires. The Bobcat Fire broke out in Los Angeles County. After
two weeks the fire had grown to 170 square miles and was only 17%
contained.
   (Reuters, 9/6/20)(SFC, 9/23/20, p.A8)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, California to date
had 737,382 cases of coronavirus and 13,718 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 90,662 cases and 1,216 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,274,388 with the death toll at 188,909.
   (sfist.com, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Oregon a fire
started outside a police precinct on Portland's north side resulted
in about 15 arrests during protests late today and into Monday
morning.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Belarus, despite
a show of force from authorities, protesters set out to pressure
President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after his disputed
re-election. A massive rally in Minsk that drew an estimated 100,000
protesters. 633 people were detained for taking part in unsanctioned
protests.
   (The Week, 9/6/20)(AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, It was reported
that fires in the Brazilian Amazon have been as destructive as last
year’s, but they have drawn less attention in a year overwhelmed by
the coronavirus pandemic. Enormous blazes — often intentionally set
but worsened by unusually dry conditions — have also scorched 7,861
square miles, or about 10 percent, of the area known as the Pantanal
from January to August, an area slightly larger than New Jersey.
   (NY Times, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Britain one man
was killed and at least five people were injured after a series of
stabbings in Birmingham early today. Police said they are still
hunting a single suspect. Zephaniah McLead (27) was arrested a day
later. He was soon charged with murder and seven counts of attempted
murder.
   (AP, 9/6/20)(SFC, 9/8/20, p.A2)(SFC, 9/10/20,
p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, China's official
Xinhua News Agency reported that an experimental reusable spacecraft
launched into orbit two days ago has successfully returned to a
designated site, marking a breakthrough that could lead to cheaper
round-trips to space.
   (Reuters, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Cyprus police said
that four vessels appeared off Cyprus’ eastern and southern coast
over the last two days carrying a total 123 migrants and about half
of them have been permitted to disembark.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Hong Kong
demonstrators returned to the street to protest the city's
Beijing-imposed national security law and the government's decision
to delay Legislative Council elections for a year. About 290 people
were arrested. Police tackled a 12-year old girl to the ground and
arrested her on amid a protests against delayed parliamentary
elections.
   (AP, 9/6/20)(The Telegraph, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Israel's death toll
from the coronavirus surpassed 1,000, as the government mulled steps
for imposing new restrictions to quell a resurgence in infections.
Overall, Israel has recorded nearly 130,000 cases of the virus.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Italy Willy
Monteiro Duarte (21) was killed during a fight in Colleferro, a city
on the outskirts of Rome. Four Italians were soon arrested,
including two brothers with police records and a martial arts
background. Duarte, who was born in Rome to parents from the African
island nation of Cape Verde, had intervened while seeing a friend
get beaten up in the fight and was then fatally beaten himself.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Typhoon Haishen,
the second powerful typhoon to slam Japan in a week, unleashed
fierce winds and rain on southern islands, blowing off rooftops and
leaving homes without power as it edged northward into an area
vulnerable to flooding and mudslides.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Montenegro
several thousand protesters gathered in Podgorica in a show of
support for the ruling pro-Western party, which could lose power if
the pro-Serb and pro-Russian groups manage to form a ruling
coalition.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, In Tunisia a police
officer was killed and another wounded in a knife attack in the
coastal resort of Sousse. Three assailants were shot dead after the
incident, which is being described as a terrorist attack. Tunisian
authorities soon arrested seven people suspected of involvement in
the deadly attack. The Islamic State group's Amaq agency claimed
responsibility.
   (BBC, 9/6/20)(AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Republican
President Donald Trump, accused by Joe Biden of putting lives at
risk in his handling of the coronavirus, called his Democratic rival
"stupid" and demanded an apology for what Trump called anti-vaccine
rhetoric.
   (Reuters, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In southern
California seven people were dead and a suspect remained at large
following a shooting at a suspected illicit marijuana operation in
Riverside County.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, California to date
had 740,400 cases of coronavirus and 13,763 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 91,210 cases and 1,218 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,301,321 with the death toll at 189,215.
   (sfist.com, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In Chicago a girl
(8) was killed and two adults were severely wounded after they were
shot this evening while traveling in a vehicle on the city's South
Side. The shooting occurred in the Canaryville neighborhood.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In Oregon pro-Trump
supporters and counter-protesters clashed in the city of Salem.
Earlier in the day vehicles waving flags for Trump, the QAnon
conspiracy theory and in support of police gathered at about noon at
Clackamas Community College in Oregon City.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In Belarus leading
opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova and two other members of an
opposition council went missing, raising fears they were detained as
authorities seek to squelch nearly a month of protests against the
re-election of the country's authoritarian leader. The next day
Kolesnikova ripped up her passport to avoid being forced to move to
Ukraine.
   (AP, 9/7/20)(SFC, 9/9/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, China-based
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical said it has signed a strategic
cooperation agreement with Sinopharm Group to supply a coronavirus
vaccine candidate developed by German firm BioNTech.
   (Reuters, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Chinese and Indian
troops exchanged fire along the southern coast of Pangong Lake in an
area known in China as Shenpaoshan and in India as Chushul. The
following day both sides accused each other of making provocative
military moves and firing warning shots along their disputed border.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Denmark said
Tunisia was responsible for taking in 27 migrants who were rescued
in the Mediterranean by a Danish-flagged tanker that has not been
able to find a European port to accept them. Tunisia rejected the
claim.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In Egypt a young
man (26) died in police detention following his arrest over clashes
in a Cairo neighborhood last week. The man's family accused the
police of killing him.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The European Union
warned Serbia and Kosovo that they could undermine their EU
membership hopes by moving their Israeli embassies to Jerusalem.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, France's interior
minister said investigators have made numerous arrests since a
macabre series of attacks left scores of horses mutilated or killed
this year and have opened more than 150 investigations into such
cases.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Berlin's Charite
hospital said Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been removed from a
medically induced coma and is responding to speech.
   (Reuters, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Greece said it will
be bolstering its military with new armament programs, a boost to
military personnel and the development of the country’s defense
industry. A tense stand-off with neighboring Turkey has led to
concerns of open conflict between the two NATO allies.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Hungary registered
576 new coronavirus cases raising its total to 8,963 and 625 deaths.
   (SFC, 9/8/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, India's coronavirus
cases rose by 90,802 new cases in the last 24 hours raising its
total to 4,204,614, now the 2nd highest in the world after the US.
The death toll rose to 71,642 with 1,016 new deaths.
   (SFC, 9/8/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Nearly 300 Rohingya
migrants reached Indonesia claiming to have been at sea for seven
months. The UN said as many as 30 may have died during the perilous
voyage. Military operations in 2017 forced some 750,000 Rohingya to
flee from Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine state to Bangladesh.
   (AFP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, It was reported
that two Nigerian men have been arrested for allegedly scamming a
German state that tried to buy 2.3m euros (£2m) of personal
protective equipment (PPE).
   (BBC, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Typhoon Haishen to
a tropical storm late today as it made landfall near the North
Korean coastal city of Hamhung. In South Korea, at least two people
were missing as the storm barreled through South Korea’s southern
and eastern regions.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Russia's deputy
prime minister said a senior Russian delegation in Damascus is
discussing the expansion of economic and trade cooperation with
Syria and the two sides expect to sign an economic pact before the
end of the year to circumvent US sanctions.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, A Saudi court
issued final verdicts in the 2018 case of slain Washington Post
columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still
resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the
convicted individuals from execution. The court ordered a maximum
sentence of 20 years in prison for five men. Another individual
received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve
seven years in prison.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In southern Somalia
a US soldier was wounded and two Somali soldiers were killed when an
al-Shabab suicide bomber tried to pass a checkpoint and attack a
military compound but was stopped by the partner forces.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In South Africa
protests over a hair advertisement, viewed as racially offensive,
forced the closure of at least 60 outlets of a chain of drugstores
of nationwide retailer Clicks. Some supporters of the Economic
Freedom Fighters vandalized some stores.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, South Korea-based
Samsung Electronics said it had won a $6.64 billion order to provide
wireless communication solutions to Verizon in the United States.
   (Reuters, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, In Sri Lanka
firefighters began battled a new blaze on the tanker ship MT New
Diamond. A patch of diesel fuel was reported near the ship.
   (SFC, 9/9/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The Uganda
Communications Commission in a statement said bloggers and online
news sites must seek the necessary authorization with it by Oct. 5.
Some saw the move as an attack on free speech ahead of next year's
election.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The World Food
Program said an estimated 45 million people in southern Africa are
food insecure, with the number of people without access to adequate
affordable and nutritious food up 10% from last year. Zimbabwe is
the worst affected country, with its number of food insecure people
expected to reach 8.6 million by the end of this year.
   (AP, 9/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, US President Donald
Trump, facing the possibility of a cash crunch, said he would spend
"whatever it takes" of his own money to finance his 2020
presidential campaign against Democrat Joe Biden if he had to.
   (Reuters, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, It was reported
that the US Justice Department is asking to take over President
Donald Trump's defense in a defamation lawsuit from a writer who
accused him of rape, and federal lawyers asked a court to allow a
move that could put the American people on the hook for any money
she might be awarded. E. Jean Carroll alleged last year that Trump
raped her in a New York luxury department store in the mid-1990s.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, It was reported
that President Donald Trump has instructed that dozens of oil
refiner requests for retroactive waivers from US biofuel laws be
denied amid concerns the issue could cut into his support in the
Farm Belt.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, The US Treasury
sanctioned two former Lebanese Cabinet ministers who are allied with
Hezbollah. The next day the Shiite Amal group, headed by Lebanon's
longtime Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, denounced the sanctions.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, The number of
children who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States
reportedly has surpassed half a million. The American Academy of
Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association said the number
of child cases of COVID-19 has risen to 513,415 following a 16
percent increase from August 20 through Sept. 3. The report says
that 103 children have died due to COVID-19.
   (The Week, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In California more
than 14,000 firefighters battled blazes across millions of acres. So
far this year the state has had 7,606 fires and 2.3 million acres
burned.
   (Good Morning America, 9/9/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, California to date
had 744,433 cases of coronavirus and 13,816 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 91,695 cases and 1,222 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,325,586 with the death toll at 189,580.
   (sfist.com, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Top police leaders
in Rochester, New York, announced their retirements amid nightly
protests over the handling of the suffocation death of Daniel Prude,
whose family filed a federal lawsuit alleging a cover-up by law
enforcement.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act as wildfires continue
to spread throughout the state.
   (Good Morning America, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Police arrested 11
people in Portland as protests continued to take place after 100
days of demonstrations in the Oregon city against racism and police
brutality.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, South Dakota Gov.
Kristi Noem’s administration announced that it is using federal
coronavirus relief funds to pay for a $5 million tourism ad campaign
aimed at drawing people to the state, even as it emerges as one of
the nation’s top hot spots for COVID-19 infections.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In Tennessee a
single-engine Piper PA-28 airplane carrying three people, crashed
near Warren County Memorial Airport in McMinnville, which is
northeast of Nashville. a single survivor soon died.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Inovio
Pharmaceuticals Inc said that Thermo Fisher Scientific would
manufacture the drug developer's experimental coronavirus vaccine,
as it looks to boost the supply ahead of large trials this month.
   (Reuters, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Australian
journalists Bill Birtles and Michael Smith arrived in Sidney after
being rushed out of China following a 5-day diplomatic standoff.
Chinese investigators had sought to question them about Cheng Lei, a
Chinese-born Australian news anchor who was detained in August for
national security crimes.
   (SFC, 9/9/20, p.A2)(Econ., 9/12/20, p.35)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Britain's
government admitted that it may break international law by not
applying parts of its Brexit divorce deal relating to Northern
Ireland, as a top legal adviser quit, reportedly over the plans.
   (AFP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said it has paused global trials of its experimental
coronavirus vaccine after an unexplained illness in a participant, a
move seen as dimming prospects for an early rollout.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Chinese leader Xi
Jinping praised China's role in battling the coronavirus pandemic
and expressed support for the World Health Organization, in a
repudiation of US criticism and a bid to rally domestic support for
Communist Party leadership.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Nongfu Spring,
China's most popular brand of bottled water, went public on Hong
Kong's bourse. Zhong Shanshan (b.1954), founded the company in 1966
and became China's 2nd wealthiest person following the IPO.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhong_Shanshan)(Econ., 9/12/20, p.55)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, A major fire
erupted late today and swept through the notoriously overcrowded
Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving thousands
of people in need of emergency shelter. 36 people have tested
positive at the camp for COVID-19. A 2nd fire on Sept. 10 destroyed
nearly everything that had been spared in the first fire.
Authorities said both fire were deliberately started.
   (AP, 9/9/20)(NY Times, 9/10/20)(SFC, 9/11/20,
p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Indonesia reported
200,035 cases of the coronavirus. The country has also seen by far
the most fatalities among medical workers in the region, leading to
concerns about the long-term impact on the nation's fragile
healthcare system. 100 more deaths raised the confirmed death toll
to 8,230.
   (AP, 9/8/20)(SFC, 9/9/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Iran said it is
building a sophisticated new building near its underground Natanz
nuclear site. The new structure is being built in the wake of a July
explosion that damaged a building that housed centrifuge machines.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Iran told Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained in Tehran since
2016, that she faces a "new indictment." Zaghari-Ratcliffe was
convicted of sedition and jailed for five years in September 2016.
She was due for release in March 2021.
   (AFP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Human rights group
Fortify Rights said two soldiers who deserted from Myanmar’s army
have testified on video that they were instructed by commanding
officers to “shoot all that you see and that you hear” in villages
where minority Rohingya Muslims lived.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, South Korea's
Celltrion Inc said it will begin commercial production of its
experimental treatment for COVID-19 this month, as it pushes ahead
with clinical trials of the antibody drug.
   (Reuters, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Swiss-based Lonza
said the first patient has been treated with a cell therapy made in
its "Cocoon" platform, which the contract drug maker hopes catches
on at medical centers aiming to boost use of personalized cancer
treatments.
   (Reuters, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Ukraine registered
a record 57 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24
hours, up from a previous record of 54 deaths registered last week.
A total of 140,479 cases were registered in Ukraine as of Sept. 8,
with 2,934 deaths.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, The UN refugee
agency said it has confirmed two coronavirus cases in the Azraq camp
for Syrian refugees in Jordan.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Gasoline shortages
have returned to Venezuela, sparking mile-long lines in the capital
as international concerns mounted that Iran yet again may be trying
to come to the South American nation's rescue.
   (AP, 9/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, It was reported
that an environmental group in Zimbabwe has applied to the country’s
High Court to stop a Chinese firm from mining coal in Hwange
National Park, which hosts one of Africa’s largest populations of
elephants. The mining license was granted by President Emmerson
Mnangagwa's government to the Chinese firm in February, 2019, and
the firm has started exploratory work in the park. Information
Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced a ban on mining in all national
parks, reversing a decision to let Chinese firms explore for coal at
its famous Hwange game park with immediate effect.
   (AP, 9/8/20)(BBC, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Whistle-blower
Brian Murphy, former head of the Homeland Security Department’s
intelligence branch, accused top officials at the Department of
Homeland Security of downplaying threats from violent white
supremacy and Russian election interference.
   (NY Times, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Journalist Bob
Woodward in his new book "Rage" said Trump told him that he had
purposely minimized the risks of the coronavirus to the public,
despite knowing in February that the virus was much deadlier than
the flu and could be spread through the air.
   (NY Times, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The top American
commander for the Middle East said the US is reducing its troop
presence in Iraq this month from 5,200 to 3,000.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Amtrak Chief
Executive William Flynn told Congress the US passenger railroad
needs up to $4.9 billion in government funding to avoid service and
job cuts, and address mounting losses.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Wildfires continued
to sweep through the Pacific Northwest and California, killing at
least six people. Thick smoke choked much of the state and cast an
eerie orange hue across the sky. More than two dozen major fires
were burning around the state, some of them among the largest ever
recorded in recent California history.
   (AP, 9/9/20)(The Week, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Smoke blotted out
the sun in San Francisco, and ash fluttered down from the sky.
   (NY Times, 9/10/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, California to date
had 746,312 cases of coronavirus and 13,911 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 92,377 cases and 1,234 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 6,359,720 with the death toll at 190,815.
   (sfist.com, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In Florida
Sylvester Ofori, a pastor and self-proclaimed prophet, shot and
killed his estranged wife, Barbara Tommey (27), outside her job at a
bank near the Mall at Millenia.
   (Orlando Sentinel, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Henry van
Ameringen, a philanthropist and heir to a family fortune in the
fragrance industry, died at his home in Manhattan. He was among the
first openly gay major donors to fund LGBTQ. and AIDS-related
organizations, at a time before they enjoyed more mainstream
support.
   (NY Times, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Tom Ridge, a former
Republican governor of Pennsylvania, called on that state’s
Legislature to make a small change to how mail-in ballots are
counted that could make a huge difference in how quickly election
results are reported in November.
   (Yahoo News, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, It was reported
that J.C. Penney has reached a deal to sell its retail business to
Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, averting a
liquidation.
   (The Week, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Kool & the Gang
co-founder Ronald "Khalis" Bell (68) died at his home in the US
Virgin Islands.
   (The Week, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Shere Hite (77),
author of the landmark 1976 book on women’s sexuality, “The Hite
Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality,” died in London. Her
work enraged some men and Christian groups, and criticism and
threats drove her to leave the US.
   (NY Times, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, In Afghanistan at
least 10 bystanders were killed in a bombing in Kabul that targeted
first VP Amrullah Saleh, who survived.
   (SFC, 9/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Belarus authorities
detained lawyer Maxim Znak, one of the last two leading members of
an opposition council who remained free.
   (SFC, 9/10/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Brazilian lab and
hospital group DASA S.A. said it has agreed to conduct clinical
Phase 2 and 3 trials in Brazil for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by
COVAXX, a unit of privately-owned United Biomedical Inc.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Britain's Internal
Market Bill was published. It became contentious as it overrides
parts of the EU's legal divorce deal, known as the Withdrawal
Agreement, which came into effect on 31 January 2020.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y5lnu988)(Econ., 9/12/20,
p.46)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The Czech Republic
reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases for a second day in a
row, as it widened compulsory wearing of face masks in an attempt to
contain the outbreak.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, In Egypt journalist
Islam el-Kalhy, who reported on a young man’s death in police
custody, was detained on charges of reporting fake news. Egypt is
ranked among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, along with
Turkey and China.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Ethiopia's northern
Tigray region held elections in a show of defiance against PM Abiy
Ahmed, who called the regional vote illegal but said the government
would not respond with force. The Tigray Independence Party (TIP)
has called for Tigray to form its own country.
   (https://tinyurl.com/yyccbbt4)(SFC, 11/6/20,
p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, France fined
Switzerland's Novartis and Roche 444 million euros (403.55 million
pounds), after its competition authority said they used abusive
practices to push costly eye injection Lucentis over a cheaper drug.
Novartis must pay 385 million euros and Roche about 60 million
euros, according to the decision.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, India reported
89,706 new coronavirus cases and 1,115 deaths over the last 24 hours
taking total fatalities up to 73,890. Total caseload reached 4.37
million.
   (SFC, 9/10/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, It was reported
that 26 scientists, most of them working at universities in Italy,
have signed an open letter questioning the reliability of the data
presented in the early-stage trial results of the Russian COVID-19
vaccine, named "Sputnik-V".
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, In eastern Mexico
Julio Valdivia (41) of the newspaper El Mundo de Veracruz was found
decapitated. He had covered a confrontation between police and
suspected criminals the previous day. He was the fifth journalist
slain in Mexico this year.
   (The Telegraph, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The leaders of the
three main opposition groups in Montenegro signed a coalition
agreement to form the next government and sought to alleviate fears
that they would steer the small Balkan state off its pro-Western
course and back toward traditional allies Serbia and Russia.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Amnesty
International accused Mozambique’s government security forces of
torturing suspected members of an Islamist insurgency in the
country’s northern Cabo Delgado province — as well as “possible
extrajudicial executions”, and of “discarding of a large number of
corpses into apparent mass graves”.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, North Korean state
media said Typhoon Maysak wrecked nearly 60 bridges and destroyed or
inundated more than 2,000 houses when it hit on Sep 3.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Russia's sovereign
wealth fund said it had signed a deal to supply Mexican
pharmaceutical firm Landsteiner Scientific with 32 million doses of
the Russian-produced COVID-19 vaccine "Sputnik-V".
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Serbia suspended
all foreign military exercises on the eve of planned maneuvers with
Russia in Belarus, citing alleged pressure from the European Union.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Somaliland opened a
"representative office" in Taipei. This followed the opening in
August of a similar Taiwanese office in Hargeisa, Somaliland's
capital.
   (Econ., 10/3/20, p.38)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Top South African
human rights lawyer George Bizos (92), who famously defended Nelson
Mandela, died.
   (BBC, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The United Arab
Emirates recorded 883 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily
increase in over three months. The UAE has recorded 75,981
infections and 393 deaths from COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, A new UN report
said the world is getting closer to passing a temperature limit set
by global leaders five years ago and may exceed it in the next
decade or so.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, United Nations
peacekeepers returned to provide protection for a Nobel Peace
Prize-winning Congolese Dr. Denis Mukwege, who has faced death
threats, after alarmed supporters urged the UN to reinstate the
security following months without it.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, It was reported
that UN-backed experts have found evidence that rebels in Yemen
recruited nearly three dozen teenage girls — some said to be
survivors of sexual violence — as spies, medics, guards and members
of an all-female force.
   (AP, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The Houthi
administration in Yemen suspended all UN and humanitarian flights to
the capital Sanaa as its Saudi-led coalition foe blocks commercial
vessels in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The Saudi-led coalition
held 21 commercial vessels in Hodeidah port, preventing more than
500,000 tons of fuel from entering the country.
   (Reuters, 9/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, A federal court
rejected President Trump’s order to exclude unauthorized immigrants
from the census, ruling that it was so clearly illegal that a
lawsuit challenging the order need not go to a trial.
   (NY Times, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The US government
confirmed it will end enhanced screening of some international
passengers for COVID-19 and drop requirements that travelers coming
from the targeted countries arrive at 15 designated US airports,
starting Sept. 14.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The Trump
administration charged Artem Mikhaylovich Lifshits, a Russian
national, of serving as a translation manager in a Russian effort
that at least since 2014 has tried to disrupt the political system
in the US and other countries.
   (SFC, 9/11/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The NFL football
season officially began when the Kansas City Chiefs launched their
Super Bowl title defense with a 34-20 win over the Houston Texans,
but the rest of the league began play on Sept. 13.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The death toll
from West Coast wildfires rose to at least 23 as dozens of blazes
continued to spread in California, Oregon, and Washington state. The
August Complex fire burning in northern California became the
largest fire in state history, covering 471,185 acres in the
Mendocino National Forest.
   (The Week, 9/11/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, California to
date had 751,184 cases of coronavirus and 14,089 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 92,776 cases and 1,236 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,396,047 with the death toll at 191,731.
   (sfist.com, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Former New York
Jets wide receiver Joshua Bellamy (31) was arrested in Florida and
charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire
fraud and bank fraud. He was accused of taking part in a $24 million
fraud scheme that allegedly took loan money meant for businesses as
coronavirus relief and using it on personal expenses.
   (NBC News, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, In Texas four
Houston police officers were fired after a months-long investigation
of a fatal shooting found that they were "objectively unreasonable"
in discharging 21 rounds at Nicolas Chavez (27), a man in distress
on April 21.
   (ABC News, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Microsoft
announced that hackers from Russia, China, and Iran are trying to
influence the 2020 presidential election. MS warned that China is
growing more adept at targeting campaign workers. But contrary to
Trump administration warnings, Beijing is mostly aiming at Biden
campaign officials.
   (AFP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Century 21, a
company, best known for designer goods offered at discounted prices,
announced that operations at 13 stores in New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Florida would end after nearly 60 years.
   (Good Morning America, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Jane Fraser will
be the next chief executive of Citigroup, making her the first woman
to lead a major US financial institution.
   (NY Times, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, A group
representing some of the largest US and international apparel
companies called on Washington to convince other countries to
pressure China to end forced labor in its Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region.
   (South China Morning Post, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, BP entered the
offshore wind market with a $1.1 billion deal to buy 50% stakes in
two US developments from Norway's Equinor, a significant step by the
oil firm towards its energy transition goals.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, British actress
Diana Rigg (82) died in London. She had enthralled London and New
York theater audiences with her performances in classic roles for
more than a half-century. She remained best known as the
quintessential new woman of the 1960s on the television series “The
Avengers” and found new fans later playing Lady Olenna Tyrell on
“Game of Thrones”.
   (NY Times, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, It was reported
that Chinese authorities have told major media outlets not to cover
Walt Disney Co's release of "Mulan", in an order issued after
controversy erupted overseas over the film's links with the Xinjiang
region. The film is to open in local theatres on Sept. 11.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The Chinese and
Indian foreign ministers agreed that their troops should disengage
from a tense border standoff, maintain proper distance and ease
tensions in the Ladakh region where the two countries in June had
their deadliest clash in decades.
   (AP, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Violent
demonstrations in Bogota, Colombia, continued into a 2nd day over
the death of Javier Ordonez, a man police officers shocked with a
stun gun for more than two minutes after they stopped him for
allegedly violating social distancing rules by drinking publicly
after 9 p.m. The violence left at least seven people dead. Mayor
Claudia Lopez said 46 of the city's streets had been totally
destroyed. 60 police precincts were also damaged. In 2021 an
independent investigation backed by the mayor of Bogotá’s office and
the United Nations said police were responsible for the deaths of 11
protesters.
   (AP, 9/11/20)(SFC, 9/11/20, p.A2)(SSFC, 9/13/20,
p.A3)(The Guardian, 12/13/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The Danish
government appointed an envoy to “help open doors” for a new
approach on migration to Europe and to “ensure that real refugees
are helped faster and better in the surrounding areas”.
   (AP, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The east German
state of Brandenburg, where a case of African swine fever (ASF) was
confirmed in a wild boar, said it will impose a 15-km quarantine
zone around the area where the case was discovered. The German
farmers' association DBV called for a corridor free of wild boar to
be created along Germany's border with Poland.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, India reported
another record spike of 95,735 coronavirus infections over the last
24 hours as well as 1,172 deaths. Total infections reached 4,465,863
with 75,062 fatalities.
   (SFC, 9/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Indonesia posted a
record high 3,861 positive cases. Doctors in Jakarta warned the
coronavirus pandemic is “not under control” with intensive care
units in the city nearing full capacity. New lockdown measures were
ordered amid a spike in infections. The country has recorded more
than 203,000 cases of the coronavirus and 8,336 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, In Lebanon a huge
fire broke out at the Port of Beirut, sending up a thick column of
black smoke and raising new panic among traumatized residents after
last month's catastrophic blast at the same site killed nearly 200
people.
   (AP, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Hundreds of young
Libyans flooded the streets of Benghazi and other eastern cities
late today, setting piles of tires ablaze, a spontaneous outburst of
anger over the area’s crippling electricity shortages.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Human Rights Watch
accused Libyan armed groups linked to the Tripoli-based government
of using heavy weapons to disperse anti-corruption rallies last
month in the capital and of detaining, torturing and forcibly
disappearing protesters.
   (AP, 9/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Montenegro
reported 128 new coronavirus cases, with nearly every fifth person
tested found to be positive.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Moroccan
authorities said police arrested five people suspected of plotting
suicide bombings and being part of an extremist network linked to
the Islamic State group.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, In the Netherlands
a group of activists took a Congolese funeral statue from the Afrika
Museum in Berg en Dal, saying they were recovering art looted during
the colonial era. The activists were quickly arrested and the statue
returned undamaged.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Portugal reported
585 new infections, mainly in Greater Lisbon and the northern
region. PM Antonio Costa said stricter measures will be adopted in
Lisbon and Porto to contain a worrying rise in coronavirus cases as
workers slowly return to offices and pupils gear up to go back to
schools. Confirmed deaths totaled 1,852.
   (Reuters, 9/10/20)(SFC, 9/11/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, In Venezuela
Matthew Heath (39), a former US Marine corporal, was arrested
traveling along the Caribbean coast accused of scheming with three
Venezuelans to sabotage oil refineries and other infrastructure to
stir unrest.
   (AP, 10/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Top government
infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said he disagreed with
President Donald Trump's assessment the United States has "rounded
the corner" on the coronavirus pandemic, saying the statistics are
disturbing.
   (Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In California the
North Complex remained the deadliest this year, with nine confirmed
deaths. A search continued for 19 people who remained unaccounted
for. Berry Creek, a tiny hamlet in the Sierra Nevada foothills, was
largely destroyed.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, California to
date had 752,684 cases of coronavirus and 14,141 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 93,502 cases and 1,278 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,438,739 with the death toll at 192,834.
   (sfist.com, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, A federal circuit
court ruled that Floridians with felony convictions are only allowed
to vote if they have paid off all fees and fines associated with
their conviction.
   (The Week, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In Georgia
Roderick Walker (26) was arrested and beaten after Clayton County
sheriff’s deputies pulled over a vehicle he was riding in. A
sheriff's deputy was soon fired after being captured on video
repeatedly punching the Black man during a traffic stop for a broken
tail light.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Fires continued to
spread across the Western US. More than 500,000 Oregon residents,
over 10 percent of the state’s population, have evacuated their
homes. Oregon reported at least eight fatalities from blazes that
have taken a toll from one end of the state to the other.
   (NY Times, 9/11/20)(AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Bahrain agreed to
establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel, which agreed to
temporarily suspend its plans to annex West Bank territory. US Pres.
Donald Trump announced the agreement, following a three-way phone
call he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Belarus
authorities detained scores of demonstrators while seeking to end
more than a month of protests against the rigged re-election of
Pres. Alexander Likashenko.
   (SFC, 9/11/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Britain announced
its first major post-Brexit trade agreement -- a deal with Japan --
as its negotiations with the European Union become increasingly
fractious.
   (AFP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In Cambodia a
group of women in Phnom Penh held a small but spirited protest
demanding the release of their detained husbands, as the United
Nations human rights office joined two international rights groups
in condemning a recent wave of arrests of dissidents and activists
in the Southeast Asian nation.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In CongoDRC more
than 50 people were killed after landslides collapsed three
artisanal gold mining wells near the city of Kamituga in eastern
Congo’s South Kivu province.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, The Czech Republic
reported 1,382 coronavirus cases, which was over 200 more than its
previous daily high and led to the return of face masks being
mandatory in enclosed public spaces.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Ethiopians
welcomed what many people around the world might like to see: the
beginning of a new year. Following a calendar seven years behind the
Gregorian one used by much of the world, Ethiopians marked the
beginning of 2013.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Thousands of
refugees and migrants left without shelter on the Greek island of
Lesbos after fires destroyed the overcrowded Moria camp held a brief
protest on a road to the island's main town, demanding to be allowed
to leave.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, The number of new
confirmed coronavirus cases spiked in parts of eastern Europe.
Hungary reported 718 virus cases, 142 more than the country's
previous 24-hour record.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Swami Agnivesh
(Vepa Shyam Rao), champion of India's indentured laborers, died in
new Delhi at age 80.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnivesh)(Econ.,
10/10/20, p.82)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Israeli warplanes
fired missiles on suburbs of Syria's northern city of Aleppo early
today, amid increased airstrikes in recent weeks. There were no
immediate reports of casualties.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Italian
authorities said police have arrested four men and are investigating
another four on suspicion of sexually assaulting two British girls
at a villa where a party was being held in the southern province of
Matera.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In Jamaica Toots
Hibbert (77), the front man for the reggae group Toots and the
Maytals, died in Kingston.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toots_and_the_Maytals)(SSFC, 9/13/20,
p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Japan suspended
imports of pork and live pigs from Germany after a case of African
swine fever (ASF) was confirmed in a wild boar in eastern Germany.
   (Reuters, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Latvia restricted
the entry conditions applying to people coming from Estonia,
bursting a travel bubble that had allowed individuals to move freely
within the three-country Baltic region amid the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Libya’s east-based
parliament convened an emergency meeting to address the eruption of
rare protests over dire living conditions across the country’s east,
rallies that mirror similar recent protests in the west of the
divided nation.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, In Mexico a group
of women in the city of Ecatepec took over offices of the human
rights commission of the state of Mexico, which surrounds the
capital. Shortly after midnight, police entered the building and
beat the women and children with them, before taking them away in
unmarked vehicles to the prosecutor’s office in a neighboring
municipality. Protesters have focused their anger on the president,
popularly known as Amlo, who has repeatedly downplayed the country’s
human rights crisis.
   (The Guardian, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Morocco recorded a
record 2,430 coronavirus cases and has confirmed more than 1,000 new
cases every day since July - the steepest increase among its North
African peers. Working conditions are so bad for some medics in
Morocco handling a surging coronavirus outbreak that they have
staged protests against inadequate staffing and poorly equipped
facilities.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Myanmar reported
115 new coronavirus cases, a day after imposing sweeping new
lockdown measures in its battle on a second wave of infections. The
country's tally stands at 2,265 cases and 14 deaths after infections
quadrupled over the last month.
   (Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, The Dutch public
health institute said that 1,270 people tested positive for COVID-19
in the last 24 hours, the highest number since mid-April and the
second time this week that Dutch daily infections have topped 1,000.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, It was reported
that lawmakers in Nigeria's Kaduna State have approved surgical
castration as punishment for those convicted of raping children
under the age of 14. State governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai needs to
sign the bill for it to become law in the state.
   (BBC, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In Somalia a
suicide bomber attacked a mosque in the southern port city of
Kismayo killing two people.
   (SFC, 9/11/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Spain’s Health
Ministry reported 4,137 new infections in 24 hours, taking the total
tally in the pandemic to over 550,000, the highest in Europe. A day
earlier the country’s official death toll reached 26,699.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Sudanese officials
said flash floods have killed more than 100 people this summer and
inundated over 100,000 houses, threatening even a famous
archaeological site near the capital of Khartoum and compounding the
country's already dire economic situation.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Thai health
authorities confirmed another coronavirus infection had been
detected in the country, in an Uzbek professional soccer player,
eight days after the virus resurfaced following a more than
three-month absence.
   (Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Turkey's Health
Ministry announced 56 more deaths and 1,671 new cases, bringing the
country's total death toll in the pandemic to 6,951 and cases to
nearly 290,000.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Ukraine registered
a record daily high of 3,144 new cases of the novel coronavirus,
topping a previous record of 2,836 on Sept. 5. Ukraine had 148,756
registered cases with 3,076 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, The UN General
Assembly overwhelmingly approved a wide-ranging resolution on
tackling the coronavirus pandemic over objections from the United
States and Israel, which protested a successful last-minute Cuban
amendment that strongly urged countries to oppose any unilateral
economic, financial or trade sanctions.
   (AP, 9/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, President Trump
traveled to Nevada for a campaign rally in Douglas County as he sets
his sights on winning over the state he narrowly lost in 2016.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Two Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department deputies — a female (31) and a male (24)
— were shot this evening while sitting in their patrol vehicle in
Compton. Both deputies were left in critical condition with multiple
gunshot wounds. The suspect ran away.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Search and rescue
workers found three more bodies in the rubble of a Northern
California wildfire, raising the death toll in that fire to 12 and
total deaths in the state's recent blazes to 22. 29 major wildfires
were burning around the state.
   (AP, 9/12/20)(SSFC, 9/13/20, p.A6)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, California to
date had 755,854 cases of coronavirus and 14,252 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 93,917 cases and 1,284 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,466,012 with the death toll at 193,351.
   (sfist.com, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, It was reported
that coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than
anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks
and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided
the worst of the pandemic.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, South Dakota
Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg struck and killed a man walking
along a rural stretch of highway. He returned to the scene the next
day and discovered the body. On Feb. 18, 2021, Ravnsborg was charged
with three misdemeanors. on August 26Â he pleaded no
contest to two misdemeanor traffic charges and was fined $500
for each count.
   (AP, 9/14/20)(SFC, 2/20/21, p.A4)(SFC, 8/27/21,
p.A11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, The first direct
peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in
Doha, Qatar. The actual face-to-face negotiations to end the
nation's nearly two-decades old conflict will start on Sept. 14.
   (The Week, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, In Belarus about
10,000 women marched through Minsk with riot police violently
detaining dozens of the marchers.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, AstraZeneca
announced that it received confirmation from the United Kingdom's
Medicines Health Regulatory Authority that it was safe to resume
clinical trials for the company's coronavirus vaccine in the UK
after they were paused over safety concerns earlier this week.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, In France police
stopped more than 200 people and detained over 25 in Paris as
activists sought to revive the "yellow vest" movement.
   (SSFC, 9/13/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Greece's PM
Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced plans to buy 18 French Rafale fighter
jets, most of the "slightly used," plus four helicopters and
advanced weapons to go with them.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.51)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, India reported a
record rise in new coronavirus infections for the second consecutive
day after registering 97,570 new cases. The world's second most
populous country now has 4.65 million confirmed cases.
   (The Week, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Iranian state news
media reported the state execution of Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old
wrestler, at a prison in the southern city of Shiraz. He was accused
of fatally stabbing a water supply company employee during a 2018
antigovernment protest in Shiraz. Afkari can be heard on an audio
tape smuggled from prison saying that he had been tortured until he
falsely confessed.
   (The Week, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Thousands of
Israelis demonstrated outside PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s official
residence in central Jerusalem late Saturday, demanding he resign
over his trial on corruption charges and what is widely seen as his
mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, At the Venice film
festival "Nomadland", a US movie about a community of van dwellers
traversing the vast American West, won the Golden Lion award for
best film.
   (Reuters, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, In the Ivory Coast
thousands of opposition supporters gathered in the city of
Yamoussoukro to support Henri Konan Bedie becoming their candidate
for the Oct. 31 presidential election.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Lebanese soldiers
fired rubber bullets and live rounds in the air to disperse hundreds
of protesters trying to march to the presidential palace during an
anti-government demonstration.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, It was reported
that Mali's new military leaders have agreed to establish an
18-month transition government until an election can take place,
following last month's coup.
   (BBC, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Thousands of
people protested in Mauritius again over the government’s handling
of an offshore oil spill that has become the Indian Ocean island
nation’s worst environmental disaster in years.
   (AP, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Mexico reported
5,674 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 421
additional fatalities, bringing its totals to 663,973 infections and
70,604 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/12/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Puerto Rico's Gov.
Wanda Vazquez reopened beaches, casinos, gyms and movie theaters
across the US territory following a drop in coronavirus cases. As of
the next day the island reported 539 deaths and 37,000 cases.
   (SFC, 9/14/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, President Donald
Trump signed a new executive order aimed at lowering drug prices in
the United States by linking them to those of other nations and
expanding the scope of a July action.
   (Reuters, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Pres. Donald Trump
held an indoor campaign rally near Las Vegas for the first time
since late June. Health officials blamed that June event, in Tulsa,
Okla., for an increase in local virus cases.
   (NY Times, 9/14/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, California to
date had 759,402 cases of coronavirus and 14,370 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 94,614 cases and 1,302 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,512,451 with the death toll at 193,976.
   (sfist.com, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In New Jersey two
people were killed and at least six others are injured following a
shooting early today outside a house party near a popular housing
area for Rutgers University students.
   (The Independent, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In Pennsylvania
protests in Lancaster degenerated into rioting that damaged the
city's police headquarters and produced an arson fire that blocked a
downtown intersection. Ricardo Munoz (27) was shot by police earlier
in the day after a reported domestic dispute. 13 people were soon
arrested and accused of committing crimes during the demonstrations.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Argentina recorded
9,056 confirmed COVID-19 cases testing indicated a positive rate of
50.4%, one of the highest in the world. The country has a total of
555,537 confirmed cases, the tenth-highest case load in the world,
with 11,412 fatalities.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In Belarus tens of
thousands of people reportedly took to the streets in Minsk again.
Police said around 250 protesters have been arrested. More than
100,000 demonstrators calling for the authoritarian president of
Belarus to resign
   (The Week, 9/13/20)(AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, It was reported
that a vast swath of a vital wetlands is burning in Brazil, sweeping
across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense
smoke. Nearly 5,800 square miles (1.5 million hectares) have burned
in the Pantanal region since the start of August — an expanse
comparable to the area consumed by the historic blazes now
afflicting California. More than 20,000 fires were detected in the
first two weeks of this month, more than burned in the whole of
September in 2019.
   (AP, 9/13/20)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.77)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, China reported 10
new coronavirus cases in the mainland. Mainland China had a total of
85,194 confirmed infections of the coronavirus. The COVID-19 death
toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Egyptian judicial
officials said prosecutors have ordered four policemen to be
detained pending an investigation into the death of a young man
while in detention.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, An Israeli court
sentence top model Bar Refaeli (35) to nine months of community
service and her mother, Zipi, to 16 months in prison on tax evasion
charges.
   (SFC, 9/14/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, The Lebanese
military killed a wanted militant leader during a raid in the
country's north that also left four of its troops dead. Khaled
Tellawi was blamed for an attack last month that killed three men in
a northern village.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Mali's opposition
coalition known as M5-RFP publicly objected to the junta's plan,
announced a day earlier, after three days of talks on Mali's
political future. ECOWAS has warned that by Sept. 15 the junta must
designate a civilian leader to head a one-year transition period or
else the country could face further sanctions.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In Nepal a
landslide caused by heavy rainfall swept through three villages
killing at least 11 people. 15 others were believed buried.
   (SFC, 9/14/20, p.A2)(SFC, 9/15/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In the Philippines
US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton (25), convicted of
killing a Filipino transgender woman, was deported after a
presidential pardon cut short his detention in a case that renewed
outrage over a pact governing American military presence.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Russians cast
their ballots in dozens of local elections, with nearly 160,000
candidates vying for seats in local parliaments and governors being
elected in several regions. The main Kremlin party retained its
dominance in regional elections across Russia, but the opposition
made gains in some areas. Two allies of Alexei Navalny were elected
to their city councils in Novosibirsk and Tomsk.
   (The Week, 9/13/20)(AP, 9/14/20)(Econ., 9/19/20,
p.49)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, More than 3
million Syrian students started school in government-held areas,
marking the first school day amid strict measures to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus. Syria, which had a population of 23
million before its conflict began in March 2011, has registered
3,506 confirmed coronavirus cases as well as 152 deaths in
government-held areas. The actual number of cases is believed to be
much higher.
   (AP, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Tanzania and
Uganda signed an agreement allowing for the construction of a 1,445
km (898 miles) crude oil pipeline.
   (BBC, 9/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Pres. Donald Trump
visited California and blamed the wildfires ravaging the West Coast
not on climate change but on the failure by Western states to
properly manage their forests. West Coast fires pushed into new
areas, prompting fresh evacuations in Idaho, Oregon and California.
At least 27 people dead and dozens more missing.
   (NY Times, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, A federal appeals
court ruled upheld a Trump administration policy that could lead to
the deportation of about 400,000 immigrants who originally came to
the US in emergency circumstances, like earthquakes or civil wars.
   (NY Times, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The US deported a
key witness in an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse at an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in El Paso. The
Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General had forbidden
the woman's deportation, but changed course, and the woman was sent
to Mexico.
   (Business Insider, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Alaska dentist
Seth Lookhart (35), convicted on 46 counts of defrauding the federal
Medicaid program, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The state
requested that the court order Lookhart to pay more than $2 million
in restitution for the Medicaid fraud.
   (Today, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, California and 19
other states filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s
decision to weaken curbs on methane emissions from the oil and gas
industry, saying the widespread West Coast wildfires should be a
reminder of the dangers posed by climate change.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, California to
date had 765,498 cases of coronavirus and 14,457 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 95,275 cases and 1,307 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,551,575 with the death toll at 194,443.
   (sfist.com, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Amazon.com Inc
said it is recruiting 100,000 more workers - the fourth hiring spree
it has announced for the United States this year - to keep pace with
e-commerce demand that jumped during the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Eli Lilly and Co
said its rheumatoid arthritis drug shortened the recovery time for
hospitalized COVID-19 patients also given Gilead Sciences Inc's
antiviral remdesivir.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Neurocrine
Biosciences Inc launched its add-on treatment for patients with
Parkinson's disease nearly five months after Food and Drug
Administration's approval, as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its roll
out in the United States.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Oracle surged 5.6%
as the cloud services company said it would team up with China's
ByteDance to keep TikTok operating in the United States, beating
Microsoft Corp in a deal structured as a partnership rather than an
outright sale.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Verizon, the
country's largest phone company, said it is buying prepaid phone
seller Tracfone for up to $6.9 billion, expanding its low-income
customer business.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Belarus'
authoritarian Pres. Alexander Lukashenko visited Russia in a bid to
secure more loans and political support, as demonstrations against
the extension of his 26-year rule entered their sixth week.
President Vladimir Putin announced a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus
when he hosted his counterpart for more than four hours of talks in
Sochi.
   (AP, 9/14/20)(AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, A Chinese academic
countered US-backed allegations that China is using forced
sterilization against Muslims in Xinjiang, saying the claims were
based on "fabricated facts" and "falsified data".
   (South China Morning Post, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The Czech Republic
reported 1,038 new cases of the coronavirus, the sixth time in the
past week the daily rise was above the 1,000 level.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The national
Geologic Survey of Denmark and Greenland said that a big chunk of
Greenland's ice cap, estimated at 42 square miles, has broken off in
the far northeastern Arctic.
   (SFC, 9/15/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, It was reported
that German carmaker Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion to resolve a
US government diesel emissions cheating investigation and claims
from 250,000 US vehicle owners.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In India a woman
(19), who belonged to the Dalit community, was raped by four men in
the heartland state of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district. Her family
found her naked, bleeding and paralyzed with a split tongue and a
broken spine in a field outside their home. She died on Sept. 28.
Four men, all from an upper caste, were arrested.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Indonesia's
capital of Jakarta began two weeks of social restrictions to curb a
rise of coronavirus infections.
   (SFC, 9/15/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, A suspected
Israeli airstrike on Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria killed 10
fighters, including eight Iraqis. The Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said the airstrike also destroyed arms depots and ambulances
were seen rushing to the area.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, An Israeli court
handed down three life sentences to Jewish extremist Amiram
Ben-Uliel, convicted in a 2015 arson attack that killed a
Palestinian toddler and his parents.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The constitutional
council of the Ivory Coast waved through the controversial 3rd term
candidacy of Pres. Alassane Ouattara.
   (Econ., 10/10/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Yoshihide Suga
(71) was elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party, all but
assuring that he will become the country's new prime minister when a
parliamentary election is held later in the week.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The rival
government in eastern Libya submitted its resignation after a number
of protests over deteriorating living conditions and corruption. The
parliament in Tobruk needs to approve the resignation of the
government. The parallel government in the east of the country is
not recognized by the international community.
   (BBC, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Libya’s coast
guard intercepted three boats, and one of them capsized. The coast
guard retrieved two bodies, and survivors reported 22 others were
missing and presumed dead.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In Mozambique a
video emerged showing people dressed in army uniforms beating and
killing a naked woman in the restive gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.
The defence ministry soon condemned the footage as "horrifying" and
vowed to "ascertain their authenticity".
   (BBC, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Nigerian health
workers demanding the payment of a hazard allowance for treating
coronavirus patients went on strike only a week after doctors in
Africa's most populous country staged a walk out.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In the Philippines
new rules cut the social distancing minimum to 30 centimeters (12
inches) on public transport, as the country saw another daily record
in newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths. The country reported 259 new
confirmed deaths, a record for the second time in three days. Total
fatalities increased to 4,630, while infections have doubled in the
past 35 days to 265,888.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, The head of
Russia's sovereign wealth fund said Russia has recruited sufficient
participants for its large-scale COVID-19 vaccine trial, known as a
Phase III trial. Initial results are expected in October or November
this year.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Swiss drugmaker
said Novartis said its Beovu matched Regeneron's Eylea in vision
clarity scores for a blindness-causing eye disease, after early
safety stumbles for the medicine in another condition caused
disappointing early sales.
   (Reuters, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Human Rights Watch
said international donors slashed their funding in June partly
because of the “systemic interference” in relief operations by the
Houthi rebels who hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as well as by the
country's internationally recognized government and their southern
separatists.
   (AP, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Vietnam jailed
four people over their roles in the death of 39 migrants found in a
refrigerated truck in Britain last October.
   (The Telegraph, 9/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, It was reported
that astronomers using powerful telescopes have detected the
chemical phosphine in the toxic atmosphere of Venus that could be a
signal of something living in one of the solar system’s most
inhospitable environments. Reanalysis of the data substantially
reduced the amount of phosphine one part per billion.
   (NY Times, 9/15/20)(Econ., 2/13/21, p.67)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, The US issued a
sweeping new advisory warning against travel to mainland China and
Hong Kong, citing the risk of “arbitrary detention" and “arbitrary
enforcement of local laws."
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, US export
restrictions on critical mobile chips used by China's Huawei went
into effect.
   (Econ., 11/7/20, p.57)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Ohio Gov. Mike
DeWine signed legislation that bars local or state officials from
closing churches or other houses of worship and that bans the
changing of election dates.
   (SFC, 9/17/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Bahrain, Israel
and the United Arab Emirates signed peace agreements in Washington,
heralding a new era of friendship between wealthy Gulf nations and
the Jewish state.
   (The Telegraph, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, FBI data disclosed
that a surge in people buying guns since the coronavirus pandemic
began has flooded the FBI's background check system, causing a spike
in the number of delayed checks and allowing gun sales to proceed
without them.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, California to
date had 767,240 cases of coronavirus and 14,505 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 95,711 cases and 1,347 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,602,981 with the death toll at 195,693.
   (sfist.com, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Pfizer Inc said
participants were showing mostly mild-to-moderate side effects when
given either the company's experimental coronavirus vaccine or a
placebo in an ongoing late-stage study.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, It was reported
that the city of Louisville will pay millions to the mother of
Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit
settlement months after Taylor's slaying by police thrust the Black
woman's name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Steve Carter (90),
Black playwright, died in Tomball, Texas. He was one of many to
emerge from the Negro Ensemble Company in NYC in the '60s, '70s and
'80s.
   (SSFC, 9/20/20, p.C12)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Becton Dickinson
said it is investigating reports from US nursing homes that its
rapid coronavirus testing equipment is producing false-positive
results.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, US drug developer
Novavax Inc said it was doubling its potential COVID-19 vaccine
manufacturing capacity to two billion doses annually under an
agreement with Serum Institute of India.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Sandra Mason
(b.1949), the Governor-General of Barbados, opened Parliament and
proposed the abolition of her job. She pronounced the words of PM
Mia Motley: "Barbadians want a Barbadian head of state."
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.34)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Momcilo Krajisnik
(75), former Bosnia wartime leader (1992-1995), died in Banja Luka,
the seat of the Serb-run part of Bosnia called Republika Srpska,
after contracting the new coronavirus. He had been sentenced to 20
years in prison by the UN war crimes tribunal for persecuting and
expelling non-Serbs.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Former British
lawmaker Charlie Elphicke was sentenced to two years in prison for
sexually assaulting two women a decade apart. Elphicke was convicted
in July at London's Southwark Crown Court of three counts of assault
against two victims.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, China successfully
sent nine satellites into orbit in its first commercial launch of a
rocket from a platform in the Yellow Sea.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Police in France
arrested Eric Danboy Bagale, a former presidential guard from the
Central African Republic (CAR), for alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity. He was accused of leading a group of largely
Christian militias which carried out revenge killings after the
CAR's president was ousted in 2013.
   (BBC, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Germany agreed to
take in 1,553 people from 408 families now living in Greece. Germany
had already agreed to take in around 1,200 other asylumn seekers
housed in Greece.
   (SFC, 9/16/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Germany's Defense
Ministry said that the government has chosen arms manufacturer
Haenel, which is owned by a company in Abu Dhabi, to make assault
rifles for the military, sidelining long-time supplier Heckler &
Koch. The contract still requires approval by Parliament.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Germany awarded
$745 million in funding to biotech firms BioNTech and CureVac to
speed up work on COVID-19 vaccines and expand German production
capacity.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Authorities in
southern Germany said they have recorded three more cases of
COVID-19 in people who frequented bars visited by a 26-year-old
American woman suspected of flouting quarantine rules in the Alpine
resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The latest cases take the
total number of recent infections there to 59, including 25 staff at
a hotel resort that caters to US military personnel and at which the
woman worked.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, The Greek
government called on the EU to jointly run new refugee camps on
Greece's eastern islands as part of a planned overhaul of the EU's
migration policies.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, India's
coronavirus death toll crossed 80,000, swelled by 1,054 in the last
24 hours. The country reported 83,809 new coronavirus infections for
its lowest daily jump in a week. At least 17 members of the Indian
parliament have tested positive for the coronavirus. Total cases
numbered 4.93 million.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Libya's east-based
army claimed that its troops killed at least seven Islamic State
militants, including foreign fighters, in an overnight raid on their
hideout in the country’s south.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, It was reported
that authorities in Panama have discovered a mass grave they believe
contains the bodies of people tortured and killed by a religious
cult. The deceased victims included a pregnant mother and her five
children, and the family’s teenage neighbor.
   (The Independent, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Russian opposition
politician Alexei Navalny shared a photograph from a Berlin
hospital, sitting up in bed and surrounded by his family, and said
he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning
last month.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Swiss contract
drug maker Lonza said it has struck a deal with California-based
biopharmaceutical company Humanigen to expand manufacturing capacity
for Humanigen's lenzilumab, a drug candidate in late-stage clinical
trials for COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Volkan Bozkir,
Turkish diplomat and the new president of the UN General Assembly
warned that unilateralism will only strengthen the COVID-19 pandemic
and called for a new commitment to global cooperation, including on
the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Ukraine registered
a record 76 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24
hours, up from a record of 72 deaths registered last week.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, The UN said
countries are set to miss all of the targets they set themselves a
decade ago to preserve nature and save Earth's vital biodiversity.
   (AFP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, UN-backed
investigators pointed to signs that Syria’s government continues to
perpetrate rape, torture and murder as the country’s nine-year
conflict grinds on, while citing possible war crimes by a
Turkey-backed coalition of rebel groups and calling on Ankara to do
more to help prevent them.
   (AP, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, The World Trade
Organization ruled that tariffs imposed by the United States on more
than $200 billion of Chinese products in 2018 were inconsistent with
global trading rules.
   (Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The US Justice
Department said it has charged five Chinese residents and two
Malaysian businessmen in a wide-ranging hacking effort. The two
Malaysian businessmen, Wong Ong Hua (46) and Ling Yang Ching (32)
were charged with conspiring with two of the Chinese hackers to
profit from computer intrusions targeting videogame companies in the
United States, France, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Attorney General
William Barr, at Hillsdale College in Michigan, called the
coronavirus lockdown orders the “greatest intrusion on civil
liberties in American history” since slavery.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Robert Redfield,
the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told
Congress that universal mask-wearing could bring the pandemic under
control within a few months. Redfield also said vaccines might not
be available for most Americans until the middle of 2021. Hours
later, Pres. Donald Trump rebuked Redfield, questioning the value of
masks and saying a vaccine would be available to the public more
quickly.
   (NY Times, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, It was reported
that the US has imposed sanctions on The Gambia's former First Lady
Zineb Jammeh after accusing her of corruption during her husband
Yahya Jammeh's rule. She was suspected to have helped him in the
illegal transfer of money, and controlled his assets abroad.
   (BBC, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Hurricane Sally
strengthened overnight and made landfall in Alabama this morning as
a Category 2 storm. It weakened to a still-dangerous Category 1,
with winds of 80 mph, by mid-morning. The hurricane left at least
two people dead in Alabama.
   (AP, 9/16/20)(SFC, 9/19/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, If carbon
emissions continue at current rates, so much mercury will leach from
thawing permafrost that fish in the Yukon River could become
dangerous to eat within a few decades, according to a study
published in the journal Nature Communications.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, California to
date had 771,841 cases of coronavirus and 14,720 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 95,997 cases and 1,360 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,627,276 with the death toll at 196,691.
   (sfist.com, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The body of
Michael Williams (44) was found ablaze in rural Iowa. He was
believed to have been killed on Sept. 12. He was allegedly strangled
to death, wrapped in cloth and plastic that was secured with rope
and tape, and then transported to a rural area where his body was
burned. On Sept. 22 four white people were charged with murder.
   (Miami Herald, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, NYC Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced that everyone in the mayor's office, including the
mayor himself, will be furloughed for one week without pay beginning
Oct. 1 to close a budget shortfall created by the pandemic.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Stanley Crouch
(74), the fiercely iconoclastic social critic who elevated the
invention of jazz into a metaphor for the indelible contributions
that Black people have made to American democracy, died at a
hospital in the Bronx.
   (NY Times, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Hmong American Ee
Lee (36) was found brutally beaten in Washington Park, Milwaukee.
Lee died three days later. A group of five to seven people were
caught on film at the location where the struggle happened. Other
cameras captured two groups of people — totaling 11 individuals —
leaving the park on bicycles after the attack.
   (NextShark, 1/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Snowflake, an
American maker of database programs, went public on the NYSE. It
doubled its valuation on the first day of trading from $33bn to over
$70bn.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.64)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Applied DNA
Sciences said it plans to initiate clinical trial of one of its five
LineaDNA vaccine candidates for veterinary use to prevent
coronavirus infections in domestic cats.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Eli Lilly and Co
said interim trial data showed its experimental antibody treatment
reduced the need for hospitalization and emergency room visits for
patients with moderate COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, A coalition of 11
state treasurers called on drugmaker Gilead Sciences to reduce the
price of remdesivir, its promising treatment for some patients of
COVID-19.
   (Good Morning America, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Authorities in
Bosnia arrested nine former Bosnian Serb military officers and
troops who are suspected in the killing of 44 civilians during the
1992-95 Bosnian War.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Britain reported
3,991 new coronavirus cases up from 3,105 a day earlier.
   (SFC, 9/17/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, EU Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will build its own agency
for biomedical research and convene a global health summit in Italy
next year in a bid to be better prepared for future pandemics.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, A top German
security official said authorities in western Germany have suspended
29 police officers suspected of sharing far-right propaganda in
WhatsApp groups, at least two of which were active for several
years.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The Israeli
military struck Hamas militant sites in the Gaza Strip early today
in response to rocket fire toward Israel the previous night that
coincided with the signing of normalization agreements between
Israel and two Arab countries at the White House.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, An Israeli court
sentenced a young man to 3 1/2 years in prison for his role in the
2015 arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents
in the West Bank village of Duma.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Israel's Betalin
Therapeutics said it is preparing an initial public offering that
will value the biotech firm between $150-170 million to fund trials
for its diabetes treatment. Betalin is developing an artificial
micro-pancreas that is implanted in the thigh of diabetics to help
control the level of sugar in their blood.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Japan's parliament
elected Yoshihide Suga as the country's 99th prime minister.
   (The Week, 9/16/20)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.36)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, A senior
Portuguese official said Lisbon and Rabat are negotiating a deal
that would allow an agreed number of citizens from Morocco to work
legally in Portugal.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, In rural Romania a
stash of some 200 rare and valuable books, stolen in 2017 from a
London warehouse, was discovered hidden in a concealed space under a
house.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, It was reported
that a military court in Somalia has sentenced a militant Islamist
to life in prison for his role in a deadly attack last January on a
US base in Kenya. Farhan Mohamud Hassan was also convicted of being
a member of al-Shabab.
   (BBC, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, South Korean
shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co Ltd said it had
delivered the world's first very large container ship powered by
liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Singapore's Eastern Pacific Shipping
Pte Ltd.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Turkey began final
Phase III trials of an experimental Chinese coronavirus vaccine. The
vaccine candidate being trialed was developed by Sinovac.
   (Reuters, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, In north-eastern
Uganda 219 prisoners broke out of a prison facility in Moroto. Seven
were soon recaptured. One soldier and two inmates were killed.
   (BBC, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The UN children's
agency UNICEF has called on the Nigerian authorities to urgently
review an Islamic court's decision to sentence a 13-year-old boy to
10 years in prison for blasphemy. The boy was convicted in August of
making uncomplimentary remarks about God during an argument with a
friend in northern Kano state.
   (BBC, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, The UN agency for
Palestinian refugees said it is experiencing a financial crisis that
could force it to halt some services to an already impoverished
population of more than 5 million people.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Independent
experts for the UN’s top human rights body accused the government of
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of crimes against humanity,
highlighting grisly cases of torture and killings allegedly carried
out by security forces who used techniques like electric shocks,
genital mutilation and asphyxiation.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, US President
Donald Trump announced a new round of pandemic assistance to farmers
of about $13 billion at a campaign rally in Wisconsin late today,
delivering aid to an important sector in a crucial battleground
state.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The United States
imposed sanctions on an official from Hezbollah, a movement backed
by Iran and deemed a terrorist group by Washington, and two firms
based in Lebanon, which is wrestling with an economic crisis. Nathan
Sales, the State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, said
Hezbollah has stored chemicals that can be used to make explosives
in several European countries.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)(AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, FBI Director Chris
Wray told lawmakers that antifa is an ideology, not an organization,
delivering testimony that puts him at odds with President Donald
Trump, who has said he would designate it a terror group.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The US National
Institutes of Health launched a clinical trial of fostamatinib, sold
under the brand name Tavalisse by Rigel Pharmaceuticals and
currently used to treat a blood platelet-destroying autoimmune
disorder, in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, the disease
caused by the novel coronavirus.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Winston Groom
(b.1943), author of "Forrest Gump," died in Fairhope, Alabama. His
work included 16 books of fiction and nonfiction. Forrest Gump was
made into a 1994 movie and won six Oscars in 1995.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Groom)(SFC, 9/19/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, A US federal judge
said the city of Berkeley, Ca., cannot require cell phone retailers
to warn customers about possible radiation dangers from holding
phones close to their bodies. The Berkeley ordinance had taken
effect in 2016.
   (SFC, 9/21/20, p.B1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, A California
firefighter died while battling the El Dorado wildfire in
California's San Bernardino National Forest. The fire, which
officials have said was started by pyrotechnics at a gender reveal
party, has burned nearly 20,000 acre.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, California to
date had 774,194 cases of coronavirus and 14,788 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 96,563 cases and 1,384 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,670,496 with the death toll at
197,589.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services said it had ramped up
nighttime aerial anti-mosquito spraying in high-risk areas of
western Michigan after announcing it suspects that 28 horses and one
human have contracted Eastern equine encephalitis in 11 counties in
the state.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, In Missouri the
shooting death of a woman in St. Louis marked the citys 195th
homicide this year.
   (SFC, 9/19/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, New Jersey
officials agreed to make the state one of the first to adopt a
so-called millionaires tax to alleviate shortfalls caused by the
pandemic. Gov. Philip Murphy said the tax would help make up
shortfalls caused by the pandemic.
   (NY Times, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court ruled that ballots had to be rejected if not enclosed
in the proper security envelope.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y52v3sjg)(SFC, 9/25/20,
p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, CVS Health Corp
said it plans to add more than 2,000 new COVID-19 drive-thru test
sites at select CVS Pharmacy locations across the United States.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Australia reported
its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in nearly three
months, as states said restrictions imposed to slow the spread of
the virus will be further relaxed.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Sviatlana
Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate in Belarus' disputed
presidential election, said that activists are compiling a list of
law enforcement officers who were allegedly involved in violence
against protesters denouncing the results of the vote.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, It was reported
that a British COVID-19 test known as DnaNudge, that gives results
in just over an hour and which requires no laboratory, was accurate
in almost all cases.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, In Cambodia a
lightning strike killed seven people, a family of four and three
relatives, in Battambang province.
   (SFC, 9/19/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, It was reported
that police in Canada believe a sophisticated network of criminals
is targeting transport trucks across the country, after seven hot
tubs and C$230,000 (US$175,000) worth of beef were stolen in brazen
daylight thefts.
   (The Guardian, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The Czech Republic
reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day for the
first time and tightened preventive measures after a surge in
infections that is among the fastest in Europe.
   (AP, 9/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Germany’s federal
agriculture ministry said one more case of African swine fever (ASF)
has been confirmed in a wild boar in the eastern German state of
Brandenburg.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, It was reported
that BioNTech is buying a production site in Germany for the
COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Pfizer, aiming to boost
output by several hundred million doses next year, and hopes to have
the shot ready to file for approval in October.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Greek police began
moving hundreds of migrants to an army-built camp on the island of
Lesbos after a fire destroyed an overcrowded facility, leaving them
homeless for days.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, India reported
another record jump in daily coronavirus infections with 97,894
cases in the last 24 hours. 1,132 people died of COVID-19 in the
last 24 hours, taking total fatalities from the disease to 83,198.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The Israeli and
Dubai diamond exchanges announced they had struck a deal to boost
trade.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Lebanon’s largest
prison grappled with an alarming coronavirus outbreak, as many
inmates refused to take preventative measures or get tested under
the impression that catching the virus could speed up their release
as part of a rumored general amnesty. Over 200 of the 3,000
detainees at Roumieh prison have tested positive in recent days.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, The number of new
coronavirus cases in the Netherlands hit a record high for the third
consecutive day. The health ministry warned that test capacity was
not nearly enough to deal with the wave of possible infections
expected in the coming months.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Portugal reported
770 new coronavirus infections, its biggest increase in five months.
Ten deaths were also reported.
   (SFC, 9/18/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, South Africa,
which had one of the world's earliest and strictest lockdowns,
announced a further easing of anti-coronavirus measures, effective
on Sept. 20. South Africa has so far reported more than 650,000
confirmed infections, with over 15,000 deaths. The number of new
cases has dropped from about 12,000 per day in July to fewer than
2,000.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, South Korea said
it has approved Celltrion Inc's experimental COVID-19 treatment for
Phase 2/3 clinical trials, as the firm plans to seek a conditional
approval of the antibody drug for an emergency use.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, In Sudan five
young artists, known for their support for last year's pro-democracy
uprising, were convicted and sentenced to two months in prison on
charges of public disturbance and violating public safety measures
by a criminal court in Khartoum.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Ukraine strongly
warned thousands of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims who have been stuck on
its border for days that it won't allow them into the country due to
coronavirus restrictions. About 2,000 people have gathered at the
border with Belarus, in hope of traveling to the Ukrainian city of
Uman to visit the grave of Hasidic rabbi Nachman of Breslov
(d.1810).
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, A UN report said
targeted killings, intimidation and sexual assaults of both men and
women were committed against opposition supporters ahead of the
disputed May election in Burundi. The report saw little optimism in
the government of new President Evariste Ndayishimiye, saying it is
“extremely concerned” that he has appointed senior officials who
face international sanctions for alleged human rights abuses in the
country’s 2015 political turmoil.
   (AP, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, UN food chief
David Beasley called on the world's billionaires to step up to help
save some 30 million people he said are at risk of dying if they
don't receive help from the World Food Program.
   (Reuters, 9/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, President Trump
claimed there will be 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine ready
before the end of the year.
   (The Week, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, It was reported
that the US has deployed additional troops and armored vehicles into
eastern Syria after a number of clashes with Russian forces,
including a recent vehicle collision that injured four American
service members.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The White House
said the federal government will award an $11.6 billion aid package
to Puerto Rico, focused on the territory's energy and education
systems, to help the island recover from the devastation brought by
2017's Hurricane Maria.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, US Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (87) died of metastatic pancreatic
cancer at her home in Washington DC. She was well known for
championing gender equality, abortion rights, affirmative action,
and other progressive causes.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Former Southern
California lawyer Lonnie Loren Kocontes (62) was sentenced to life
without the possibility of parole for strangling his ex-wife and
throwing her body off a cruise ship in the Mediterranean in 2006.
Kanesaki was last seen alive the night of May 25. Her body was found
floating off the coast of Paola, Italy, on May 27.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, California to
date had 776,585 cases of coronavirus and 14,846 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 97,248 cases and 1,396 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,720,477 with the death toll at
198,469.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, In Florida
legendary criminal Anibal Mustelier (70) died at the Miami Federal
Detention Center. Mustelier spent 26 years eluding law enforcement
agencies and “America’s Most Wanted,” earning the nickname “The
Ghost.” While a fugitive, he beat a SunTrust Bank safe deposit box
security system to steal $5 million in jewelry without a gun.
   (Miami Herald, 10/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, In Chicago Andrew
Freund Sr. (61), the father of 5-year-old AJ Freund, pleaded guilty
to charges in connection to the Crystal Lake boy’s death and was
sentenced to 30 years in prison. His son’s body was found in a
shallow grave in April 2019. AJ’s mother, JoAnn Cunningham (37),
pleaded guilty to one count of murder and was sentenced in July to a
35-year prison term.
   (Chicago Tribune, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, A Michigan court
ruled that mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 must be counted in
the state as long as they are received by a clerk's office within
two weeks after the Nov. 3 election.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, A federal judge in
Nevada dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's re-election
campaign that sought to block the state from sending mail-in ballots
to every registered voter, a legal victory for Democrats ahead of
November's election. The order was made public on Sept. 21.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, New Jersey
Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that seeks to curb new
sources of pollution, including sewage treatment plants, landfills
and incinerators that have affected certain communities more than
others.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Protesters
returned to the streets of Portland, Oregon, following a dayslong
pause largely due to poor air quality from wildfires on the West
Coast. Police made 11 arrests as demonstrators participated in
criminal activity and threw items at officers.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, It was reported
that Bristol Myers Squibb Co's cancer immunotherapy Opdivo in
combination with Exelixis Inc's Cabometyx reduced the risk of death
by 40% in previously untreated patients with advanced kidney cancer.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The US Embassy in
Afghanistan warned that extremists groups are planning attacks
against a “variety of targets” but are taking particular aim at
women.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, It was reported
that flooding has affected well over a million people across East
Africa, another calamity threatening food security on top of a
historic locust outbreak and the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Belarus opposition
leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded an international mission to
document what she called "atrocities" during crackdowns on
anti-government protests, but said she was ready for talks to end
weeks of violence.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, It was reported
that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has ordered that the disgraced
movie mogul Harvey Weinstein be stripped of the 2004 prestigious CBE
honor he received for services to the British film industry.
   (NBC News, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The British
government targeted more areas in an attempt to suppress a sharp
spike in new coronavirus infections.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, GlaxoSmithKline
(GSK) said Europe's health regulator has recommended the approval
its cancer treatment Zejula as a first option to keep advanced
ovarian cancer at bay in women who have responded to chemotherapy.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, China National
Biotec Group (CNBG) said Around 350,000 people have taken
experimental coronavirus vaccines developed by the company.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The Czech Republic
reported 3,130 cases of coronavirus, a record high for a third day
in a row. The country had a total of 44,155 confirmed cases and 489
deaths.
   (SFC, 9/19/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The European Union
agreed to buy a potential COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK in
its second such deal to secure supplies, as a deadline for joining
the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine purchase program
looms.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The European
Commission presented a series of measures aimed at tackling
structural racism and discrimination, acknowledging a blatant lack
of diversity among the EU's institutions.
   (SFC, 9/19/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Germany's federal
agriculture ministry confirmed another six cases of African swine
fever (ASF) in wild boars in the eastern state of Brandenburg.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Guatemalan
President Alejandro Giammattei (64) said he has tested positive for
the new coronavirus, but he told a local radio station he feels
well.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, India recorded
96,424 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its
tally to 5.2 million. 1,174 people died of COVID-19 in the last 24
hours, taking total mortalities from the disease to 84,372.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Indonesia began a
7-day suspension of exports from the seafood company PT Putri Indah
into China after its frozen fish products tested positive for the
coronavirus. The virus was detected on the outermost side of the
package, not on the fish.
   (Reuters, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, It was reported
that Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the
government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation
equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted
messaging systems — a capability Iran was not previously known to
possess.
   (NY Times, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Iran declared a
coronavirus red alert due to a third wave of infections as the death
toll rose by 144 to 23,952 and the total number of cases exceeded
400,000.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Israel went back
into a full lockdown to try to contain a coronavirus outbreak that
has steadily worsened for months as its government has been plagued
by indecision and infighting.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Kosovo's awarded
US President Donald Trump with one of the country's highest honors
for his government's efforts on peace and reconciliation in the
former war-torn region.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, In Morocco,
despite a government ban on large gatherings to prevent the spread
of the coronavirus, scores of demonstrators protested outside the
Parliament to denounce Arab countries agreeing o normalize ties with
Israel.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The Dutch
government announced it is holding Syria responsible under the UN
Convention against Torture for “gross human rights violations,” in a
process that could ultimately trigger a case at the United Nations’
highest court.
   (AP, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Swiss drugmaker
Roche got a positive recommendation from a key European panel for
its immunotherapy Tecentriq mixed with Avastin against liver cancer,
likely clearing the way for the cocktail's approval in the coming
months.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, The UN Human
Rights Council agreed to a resolution submitted by the European
Union to launch closer UN monitoring of alleged rights violations in
Belarus, despite multiple attempts by Russia to water it down.
   (Reuters, 9/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Tropical Storm
Noul made landfall in central Vietnam. One person was reported
killed and at least 23 others injured.
   (SFC, 9/19/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, President Donald
Trump urged the Republican-run Senate to consider “without delay”
his upcoming nomination to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by
the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the
election. Supreme Court nominations used to need 60 votes for
confirmation if any senator objected, but Sen, Mitch McConnell
changed Senate rules in 2017 to allow the confirmation of justices
with 51 votes. He did so as Democrats threatened to filibuster
Trump’s first nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, President Trump
said he had approved a deal between TikTok and major American
companies, potentially saving the Chinese-owned app from his
administration’s upcoming ban. The deal would create a new US-based
company, TikTok Global, in which Oracle, an American software maker,
and Walmart would own 20 percent.
   (NY Times, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, US President
Donald Trump's administration declared all United Nations sanctions
on Tehran had been restored.
   (Reuters, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, US authorities
intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained
the deadly poison ricin. The letter was addressed to President
Donald Trump and appears to have been sent from Canada. Officials
soon identified a woman as a suspect.
   (Business Insider, 9/20/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, California to
date had 780,009 cases of coronavirus and 14,911 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 98,025 cases and 1,402 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,730,653 with the death toll at
198,682.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In Colorado people
gathered at the state Capitol in Denver to protest the filing of
felony charges against several leaders of racial justice
demonstrations.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Donald Kendall
(99), the former boss of Pepsico (1971-1986, died in Connecticut.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_M._Kendall)(Econ., 9/26/20,
p.61)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Immunomedics Inc
said its cancer drug Trodelvy, which received accelerated US
regulatory approval in April, extended survival time in previously
treated patients with an advanced form of breast cancer in a
clinical trial.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In northern
Afghanistan government air strikes reportedly killed 24 civilians.
The Defense Ministry said 30 Taliban fighters were killed in the
village of Sayed Ramazan, Kunduz province. An investigation was
underway.
   (SFC, 9/21/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Belarus police
cracked down sharply in Minsk on a women’s protest march demanding
the authoritarian president’s resignation, arresting more than 300
including an elderly woman who has become a symbol of the six weeks
of protest that have roiled the country.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Police in London
clashed with protesters at a rally against coronavirus restrictions,
even as the mayor warned that it was “increasingly likely” that the
British capital would soon need to introduce tighter rules to curb a
sharp rise in infections. Demonstrators took the streets of London,
Tel Aviv and other cities to protest coronavirus restrictions as the
global death toll approached 1 million.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said its top-selling drug Tagrisso has been shown to
slow the spread of a certain type of lung cancer to the brain when
diagnosed at an early stage.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Ethiopia's
attorney general’s office announced that top opposition figure,
Jawar Mohammed and 23 other people have been charged with
terrorism-related offenses, telecom fraud and other criminal
activities. Jawar has been detained since the July unrest.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, France reported
13,498 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the previous 24 hours,
setting another record in daily additional infections since the
start of the epidemic. The number deaths from COVID-19 was up by 26
to 31,274. The cumulative total rose to 442,194.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, A storm pounded
parts of central Greece, creating flooding that killed two people,
left 1 missing and forced emergency workers to rescue more than 600
people.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, The chief of
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to go after
everyone who had a role in a top general's January killing during a
US drone strike in Iraq.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In Nigeria
Gracious David-West (40), a member of the Greenlanders - also known
as Dey Gbam, a mafia-styled street gang that sprung out of the armed
militant groups, was arrested. In October he sentenced to death in
Port Harcourt for killing nine women. Authorities said he had sex
with his victims before binding their arms and feet with strips of
white sheets and then strangling them.
   (BBC, 10/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In Thailand
thousands of demonstrators defied police warnings and occupied a
historic field in Bangkok to support the demands of a student-led
protest movement for new elections and reform of the monarchy. This
was the first of a 2-day protest.
   (AP, 9/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Sex workers in
Thailand launched a petition calling for prostitution to be
decriminalized and urging authorities to remove all penalties for
selling sex. A current law made prostitution illegal in 1960.
   (The Telegraph, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, A federal judge
halted Trump’s executive order effectively banning the Chinese
social media app WeChat from operating in the US, which had been set
to go into effect overnight.
   (NY Times, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Canadian national
Pascale Ferrier, suspected of having mailed an envelope containing
ricin to the White House, was arrested while trying to enter the
United States from Canada. The suspect had been living in the United
States last year and was arrested in March 2019 by the Mission,
Texas, police for possession of an unlicensed weapon, resisting
arrest and carrying a fake driver’s license. She was then deported
back to Canada.
   (NY Times, 9/20/20)(SFC, 9/23/20, p.A8)
020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Alaska a grizzly
bear mauled and killed a moose hunter in a first-of-its-kind attack
in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
   (Good Morning America, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Jimmy Kimmel
hosted the 72nd Emmy Awards from a nearly empty Staples Center in
Downtown Los Angeles as viewers — and the nominees — tuned in from
home. Schitt's Creek and Watchmen won big at the 72nd Primetime Emmy
Awards, held without a live audience due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
   (NY Times, 9/20/20)(The Week, 9/21/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, California to
date had 785,923 cases of coronavirus and 15,017 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 98,458 cases and 1,407 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,804,814 with the death toll at
199,509.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Bryson DeChambeau
won the US Open with a 3-under-par 67, becoming only the third
golfer to finish under par in the six US Opens played at Winged Foot
in Mamaroneck, New York.
   (The Week, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The body of Jake
Gardner (38) was found outside of a medical clinic in Oregon, where
he had allegedly fled due to “great risks,” such as death threats.
The Nebraska bar owner was charged with manslaughter three months
after shooting a Black man during protests against police violence.
   (NBC News, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Texas a
single-engine plane crashed while attempting an emergency landing in
a pasture near Hilltop Lakes. All four people aboard the plane were
killed.
   (SFC, 9/22/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, It was reported
that an experimental Amgen Inc drug that targets a specific genetic
mutation shrank tumors in 32% of advanced lung cancer patients and
7% of those with colon cancer.
   (Reuters, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, More than 100,000
protesters marched in Minsk in the sixth straight weekend of
demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Alexander
Lukashenko. Videos shared by local media showed security forces
pulling protesters off the streets in simultaneous marches in other
cities. Police detained more than 400 protesters.
   (The Week, 9/21/20)(AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The first sample
of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant was collected to the south-east
of London. By the beginning of November the variant accounted for
28% of new infections in London.
   (Econ., 1/2/21, p.57)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, It was reported
that China's ByteDance Ltd is seeking a valuation of $60 billion for
TikTok as Oracle Corp (12.5%) and Walmart Inc (7.5%) take stakes in
the short-video app's business to address US security concerns.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In western
Colombia six men were shot and killed at an improvised cockfighting
arena in Munchique. Another four were killed in a similar attack in
Narino province. Local feuds between criminal groups struggling for
territorial control in rural Colombia have left more than 230 people
dead this year.
   (SFC, 9/24/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Germany
thousands of people marched in Berlin demanding that the government
do more to help migrants stuck in Greece, many of whom have been
made homeless since fires ravaged the country's largest refugee
camp.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The German
humanitarian group Sea-Watch condemned as politically motivated the
blockade of its ship in the Sicilian port of Palermo by Italian
authorities after an 11-hour inspection. This was the fifth rescue
ship blocked by Italian authorities in as many months.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The Iranian rial
fell to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market,
a day after the US President Donald Trump's administration declared
all United Nations sanctions on Tehran had been restored. Major
powers dismissed a unilateral US declaration that UN sanctions on
Tehran were back in force.
   (Reuters, 9/20/20)(AFP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Thousands of
Israelis resumed their weekly protest outside PM Benjamin
Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem, despite a new
nationwide lockdown order aimed at curbing a raging coronavirus
outbreak.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Italians in seven
regions headed to the polls for two days of voting shaped by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
   (AP, 9/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Mexico the
remains of six people were found in the shallow grave in the town of
Cajeme, Sonora. Weeks later it was reported that the body of model
Yessenia Estefania Alvarado (24), kidnapped on August 19, was one of
the six.
   (AP, 10/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Knut Kloster (91),
one of the founders of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., died.
   (GlobalNewswire, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In the Solomon
Islands two men working to locate bombs left behind from WWII died
after one bomb exploded at their aid project in Honiara.
   (SFC, 9/22/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, In Thailand
anti-government demonstrators occupying a historic field in Bangkok
installed a plaque symbolizing the country's transition to democracy
to replace the original one that was mysteriously ripped out and
stolen three years ago, as they vowed to press on with calls for new
elections and reform of the monarchy. The plaque was removed within
24 hours.
   (AP, 9/20/20)(SFC, 9/22/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, President Trump is
expected to issue an executive order on Monday spelling out how the
United States plans to punish businesses and individuals that
violate sanctions on Iran.
   (The Week, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Some of the
world's biggest companies backed growing calls for governments to do
more to reverse the accelerating destruction of the natural world
and support broader efforts to fight climate change.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, A federal judge in
New York ordered the Postal Service to reverse operational changes
that have slowed mail delivery in recent months and to prioritize
election mail, the latest legal rebuke to Louis DeJoy’s management
of the agency.
   (NY Times, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, New York City
police officer Baimadajie Angwang (33) was arrested after allegedly
spying on China's behalf for the past six years. Angwang was born in
China and has Tibetan ancestry, and received asylum in the US
because he claimed he was persecuted for his ethnicity.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, California to
date had 788,960 cases of coronavirus and 15,056 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 99,072 cases and 1,408 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,831,222 with the death toll at
199,766.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Florida Charles
Alexander (15), a relative of Miami High football coach Corey Smith,
used the coach’s own 9mm handgun to shoot him dead inside a den and
then stole over $7,000 in cash belonging to the coach. Alexander was
arrested on Sept. 24. The teen is the son of Lamar Alexander (41)
the ex-con who last November hijacked a UPS driver, led cops on a
high-speed chase and died during a televised shootout on a busy
Miramar street.
   (Miami Herald, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Microsoft bought
ZeniMax Media, which makes the best-selling "Fallout" and "Elder
Scrolls" series of games, for $7.5 billion.
   (Econ., 11/7/20, p.59)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Global banks faced
a fresh scandal about dirty money as they sought to limit the
fallout from a cache of leaked documents showing they transferred
more than $2 trillion in suspect funds over nearly two decades. The
reports were based on 2,100 leaked suspicious activity reports
(SARs), covering transactions between 1999 and 2017.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, The Abu Dhabi Film
Commission, the Israel Film Fund and the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film
and Television School said they have signed a cooperation agreement
for training and production. The agreement includes plans for an
annual regional film festival rotating between Abu Dhabi, the
capital of the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Australia
hundreds of pilot whales were discovered beached on the shore and
sand bars along the remote west coast of Tasmania state.
   (SFC, 9/25/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Bahrain said it
broke up a plot by militants backed by Iran earlier this year to
launch attacks on diplomats and foreigners in the island nation home
to the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Wildlife officials
said a total of 330 elephants in Botswana are now known to have died
from ingesting cyanobacteria, a toxic bacteria which can occur
naturally in standing water and sometimes grow into large blooms
known as blue-green algae.
   (BBC, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, A new study that
analyzed the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil has found a link between
the spread of the virus and past outbreaks of dengue fever that
suggests exposure to the mosquito-transmitted illness may provide
some level of immunity against COVID-19.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Britain’s top
medical advisers painted a grim picture of exponential growth in
illness and death if nothing is done to control the second wave of
coronavirus infections, laying the groundwork for the government to
announce new restrictions later this week.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, It was reported
that Britain's government will fine people up to 10,000 pounds who
refuse to self-isolate if they test positive for the coronavirus or
are traced to a close conact. The rule goes into effet on Sept. 28.
   (SFC, 9/21/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended
approval for Lynparza in patients with a form of prostate cancer and
as a first-line maintenance treatment for a form of advanced ovarian
cancer.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, A Bulgarian court
sentenced two men to life in prison for their involvement in the
July 18, 2012, bombing of a tourist bus that killed five Israeli
tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver and injured nearly 40
people. Meliad Farah, a dual Lebanese-Australian national, and
Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a dual Lebanese-Canadian national, were
sentenced in absentia as their whereabouts are unknown.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, It was reported
that four Cameroonian soldiers have been sentenced to 10 years for
their roles in shooting dead two women and two children in 2015. The
government had initially dismissed the footage as "fake news".
   (BBC, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Canadian health
officials warned COVID-19 infections have surged in Canada and if
people do not take stringent precautions, they could balloon to
exceed levels seen during the first wave of the pandemic.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, China reported six
new COVID-19 cases, down from 12 a day earlier. The total number of
confirmed infections for mainland China now stands at 85,297, while
the total death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, China's ByteDance
disputed "groundless rumors" about its partnership with Oracle and
Walmart to establish a subsidiary that will run its operations in
the United States. ByteDance emphasized that it would control 80
percent of TikTok Global.
   (The Week, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, It was reported
that paleontologists in China have discovered a brand new species of
burrowing dinosaur that dates back an estimated 125 million years
ago. The fossils of the Changmiania liaoningensis were discovered in
the Lujiatun Beds, located in northeast China in the Liaoning
Province, in the oldest layers of the famous Yixian Formation. The
Chinese word “Changmian” which means “eternal sleep”.
   (Good Morning America, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, An Egyptian
officials said archaeologists have unearthed more than two dozen
ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo. They were
buried more than 2,500 years ago near the famed Step Pyramid of
Djoser in Saqqara.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Greece reported
453 new cases of COVID-19 infections, a new daily record since the
start of the outbreak in the country. On the island of Lesbos 243
asylum seekers tested positive at the new camp at Kara Tepe.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)(SFC, 9/22/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, India reopened its
famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, with the first visitors
trickling in as authorities reported 86,961 new coronavirus
infections, with no signs of a peak yet.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, An Israeli court
approved the extradition of Malka Leifer, a former teacher wanted in
Australia on charges of child sex abuse, potentially paving the way
for her to stand trial after a six-year legal battle.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Italy
preliminary results from the Interior Ministry indicated that 69% of
Italians voted “yes" on a constitutional referendum to reduce the
number of national lawmakers by more than a third.
   (AP, 9/21/20)(Econ., 9/26/20, p.50)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Lebanon's
President Michel Aoun said that the crisis-hit country could be
going to “hell” if a new government was not formed, suggesting it
would require a “miracle” for that to happen at this point.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Police in
Lithuania disclosed that Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, a dual American and
Lebanese citizen charged in the US with conspiring to conceal the
source of more than $3.5 million in donations during the 2016 US
presidential election, has been jailed. His detention on Sept. 3 on
an international arrest warrant was kept secret. He will remain in
jail pending extradition hearings. Khawaja is married to a
Lithuanian citizen and has property in the Baltic country.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Mexico's Pres.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, aka AMLO, attacked two small monthly
magazines, Nexos and Letras Libres, and singled out their editors,
hector Aguilar Camin and Enrique Krauze.
   (Econ., 9/26/20, p.37)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Nigerian health
workers who went on strike in mid-September for a hazard allowance
for treating coronavirus patients returned to work, without their
demands being met.
   (Reuters, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, It was reported
that Palestinian security forces have detained dozens of supporters
of UAE-based Mohammed Dahlan, a rival to President Mahmoud Abbas.
   (AP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, The Federation of
St Kitts and Nevis acceded to the United Nations' Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.
   (PR Newswire, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, The UN week opened
with a celebration of the global body's 75th birthday in the form of
a virtual summit where Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded --
in person -- for more multilateral diplomacy.
   (AFP, 9/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, US President
Donald Trump demanded that the United Nations hold China accountable
for the coronavirus pandemic as he defended his own handling of
COVID-19 in America where the death toll is nearing 200,000.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, The Washington
Post reported that the Pentagon used $1 billion Congress allocated
for medical equipment to pay defense contractors for such things as
jet engine parts, body armor, and dress uniforms.
   (The Week, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, The US government
executed William Emmett LeCroy (50) in Terre Haute, Indiana. The
former soldier said an obsession with witchcraft led him to kill a
Georgia nurse he believed had put a spell on him in 2001.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, California to
date had 792,183 cases of coronavirus and 15,141 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 99,547 cases and 1,431 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,889,086 with the death toll at
200,641.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Federal
authorities announced that Benjamin Jenkins (25) of Cobb County,
Georgia, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a “prolific”
sextortion scheme involving as many as 150 underage girls. A jury
found Jenkins guilty of producing and distributing child pornography
he coerced his victims to create for him.
   (Miami Herald, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Billionaire Mike
Bloomberg raised $16 billion to help Florida felons pay off fines,
restitution, and court fees to help them regain their voting rights
in time for the November election. Just days earlier, Florida Gov.
Ron DeSantis, a Republican, won a court victory preventing felons
from voting until they pay off the debts.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Louisville,
Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer declared a state of emergency and
closed down much of his city's center to traffic ahead of an
expected grand jury decision on whether to indict the police
officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black
medical worker.
   (The Week, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Louisiana state
Trooper Chris Hollingsworth died following a single-vehicle highway
crash a day earlier that happened just hours after he learned he
would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a
Black man.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Maine's Supreme
Court ruled that ranked choice voting will be used for the first
time in a presidential race after concluding that a GOP petition
drive intended to stymie its use this November came up short.
   (SFC, 9/23/20, p.A8)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Hurricane Beta
weakened to a tropical depression as it parked itself over the Texas
coast, raising concerns of extensive flooding in Houston and areas
further inland. Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names last
week, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time
since the 1950s.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Republican Sen.
Mitt Romney of Utah said he supports voting to fill the late Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court, all but ensuring
President Donald Trump has the backing to push his choice to
confirmation over Democratic objections that it's too close to the
November election.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Wisconsin Governor
Tony Evers declared a new public health emergency and extended a
face mask mandate into November to fight a coronavirus flareup in
his state, as the number of people who have died across the United
States since the pandemic began passed 200,000.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Luxury apparel
maker Ralph Lauren Corp said it will cut 15% of its global workforce
by the end of its fiscal year in a company-wide restructuring to
lower costs and move more of its business online.
   (Reuters, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, It was reported
that police forces around the world have seized more than $6.5m
(£5m) in cash and virtual currencies, as well as drugs and guns in a
coordinated raid on dark web marketplaces.
   (BBC, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Brazil’s President
Jair Bolsonaro defended his administration’s record protecting the
Amazon rainforest, telling the United Nations’ virtual meeting of
global leaders that his country has been wrongly portrayed as an
environmental villain.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson warned that Britons should not expect to return to a normal
social or work life for at least six months, as he ordered new
restrictions that his government hopes will suppress a dramatic
surge in confirmed coronavirus cases.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Britain turned
over to US authorities evidence against two members of an alleged
terror cell known as “the Beatles,” ending a drawn out legal battle
to block the handover of the information.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Britain’s National
Trust, which looks after hundreds of the country’s well-loved
historic sites, detailed in a new report how dozens of its
properties have links to slavery and colonialism.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, China's Pres. Xi
Jinping told the UN China would "strive to peak carbon emissions
before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060".
   (AFP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, China's state
media agency Xinhua said Ethiopia has agreed to purchase 1.5 million
coronavirus testing kits that will be manufactured at a factory in
the African country that has been newly built by China's BGI Group.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, A Chinese court
sentenced outspoken property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang to 18 years in
prison for corruption. Zhiqiang had denounced the Communist Party
leader, Xi Jinping.
   (NY Times, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, China-based
CanSino Biologics said Pakistan has launched Phase III clinical
trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad5-nCoV.
   (Reuters, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, French firm
Valneva, which has just struck a deal to supply Britain with its
potential COVID-19 vaccine, said it is in very advanced talks with
another possible customer.
   (Reuters, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Greece judicial
authorities received instructions to pursue the prosecution of
anti-mask activist with fast-tracked trials and penalties for
convictions of up to a year in prison.
   (SFC, 9/23/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Iran reported
3,712 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, the
highest daily tally recorded since February, pushing its cumulative
total to 429,193.
   (Reuters, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In southern
Lebanon an arms cache belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group
blew up in the village of Ain Cana. A security source said it was
caused of a technical error.
   (Reuters, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Malta Keith
Schembri, a key figure in the investigation into the murder of
crusading Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, was arrested on
charges of accepting bribes for the sale of passports to foreigners.
   (The Telegraph, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, The World Food
Program said escalating extremist insurgency in northern Mozambique
has displaced 310,000 people, creating an urgent humanitarian
crisis.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte defended his drug crackdown, dismissed
criticism from human rights advocates and underscored his country's
claims in the South China Sea as the sometimes aggressive critic of
the United Nations addressed its annual gathering of world leaders
for the first time.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, The Philippine
health ministry reported 1,635 novel coronavirus cases, the lowest
daily increase in infections in two weeks, and 50 new deaths. Total
confirmed infections have increased to 291,789, the highest in
Southeast Asia, while deaths have reached 5,049.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Saudi Arabia said
Muslims will be allowed to perform the smaller, year-round
pilgrimage starting Oct. 4 as the kingdom gradually begins lifting
restrictions that had been in place on Islam's holiest site for the
past seven months due to the coronavirus.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Turkey American
author and journalist Andre Vltchek (57) died while traveling
overnight from the Turkish Black Sea coastal city of Samsun to
Istanbul. Police recorded his case as a “suspicious death”.
   (AP, 9/22/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, At a news
conference, Pres. Donald Trump declined to endorse a peaceful
transfer of power after the November election, saying, “We’re going
to have to see what happens.” He also repeated false allegations
claiming widespread voter fraud and said he wanted to replace Ruth
Bader Ginsburg quickly so the Supreme Court could resolve any
election dispute.
   (NY Times, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Pres. Donald Trump
imposed new sanctions on Cuba in an effort to woo Florida voters.
American will not be allowed to bring home cigars and rum and US
travelers will be prohibited from staying at hotels and other
properties owned by the Cuban government.
   (SFC, 9/24/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The US Treasury
Department said it imposed sanctions on individuals and entities
linked to the leader and financier of the Internet Research Agency
(IRA), a "Russian troll farm." The Treasury in a statement said it
imposed sanctions against "the network of Kremlin-connected Russian
operative" Evgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with ties to Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, US Senate
Republicans released their controversial report on Joe Biden and his
son Hunter’s former dealings with Ukraine in a politically-charged
move to taint Biden’s campaign weeks out from Election Day. The
Biden campaign immediately dismissed the report as
politically-motivated nonsense.
   (The Daily Beast, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, California
announced its own lofty climate goal: The state plans to ban the
sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Last year, only about 8
percent of passenger vehicles sold in the state were not
gasoline-powered.
   (NY Times, 9/24/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, California to
date had 794,824 cases of coronavirus and 15,275 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 99,951 cases and 1,449 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,940,721 with the death toll at
201,882.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Art Dugoni (95),
preeminent dental educator, died at his home in Palo Alto. He was
the longtime dean of the Univ. of the Pacific School of Dentistry,
which was renamed in his honor in 2004. The Pacific Heights school
moved to South of Market in 2015.
   (SSFC, 9/27/20, p.C11)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Gale Sayers (77),
Chicago Bears running back, died in Indiana, from complications of
dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. His short but brilliant career
left opponents, as they used to say, clutching at air.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, It was reported
that Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly
refused to require residents to wear masks, tested positive for the
coronavirus.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Protesters took to
the streets in multiple cities after a grand jury in Louisville,
Ky., declined to charge the two officers who fatally shot Breonna
Taylor in March. Most protests were peaceful, but not all: In
Louisville, two police officers were shot. Both are expected to
survive. Shooting suspect Larynzo Johnson (26) was soon charged with
wanton endangerment and the assault of a police officer.
   (NY Times, 9/24/20)(The Independent, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Harold Evans (92),
British-American journalist and writer, died in NYC. In his career
in his native Great Britain, he was editor of The Sunday Times from
1967 to 1981, and its sister title The Times for a year from 1981,
before being forced out of the latter post by Rupert Murdoch. He
turned the Sunday Times into a compelling, dramataic newspaper. In
1986, he founded Condé Nast Traveler. Evans wrote various books on
history and journalism, such as The American Century (1998).
   (Econ., 10/3/20, p.78)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Johnson &
Johnson began a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose
COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Mars Inc said it
was changing the name and branding of its Uncle Ben's rice products
after the brand came under fire for promoting racial stereotypes.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, In southern
Afghanistan the Taliban launched a wave of attacks overnight on
security checkpoints killing a total of 28 Afghan policemen.
   (SFC, 9/24/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, More pilot whales
were found stranded in Australia, raising the estimated total to
nearly 500, including 380 that have died, in the largest mass
stranding ever recorded in the country. 88 whales were rescued and
crews worked to free 20 more.
   (AP, 9/23/20)(SFC, 9/25/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The first known
direct commercial flight between Israel and Bahrain landed in the
island kingdom, just a week after it signed a deal alongside the UAE
to normalize relations.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, President
Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus was sworn to his sixth term in
office at an inaugural ceremony that was not announced in advance
amid weeks of huge protests of the authoritarian leader's
reelection, which the opposition says was rigged. Thousands of
Belarusians took to the streets of the capital of Minsk and other
cities to protest the inauguration. 364 people were detained,
including 252 in Minsk. The vast majority remained in custody,
awaiting court hearings.
   (AP, 9/23/20)(AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Brazil's
government said it was adding 43 more firefighters to a small force
battling blazes that have charred a Belgium-sized swath of the
world's largest tropical wetlands.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Brazil recorded
33,281 additional confirmed cases in the past 24 hours.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Three Egyptian
police officers were killed when four men, convicted on
terror-related charges and awaiting their death sentences, attempted
to escape from a notorious Cairo prison. Security forces killed the
four convicts while they were trying to flee the heavily fortified
Tora Prison complex.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The European Union
announced a major overhaul of its asylum system in hopes that more
countries will finally share responsibility for people landing on
Europe’s shores seeking sanctuary or better lives.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Pres. Emmanuel
Macron announced that France will double paid paternity leave to 28
days starting next summer and will require new fathers to take at
least a week off work.
   (NY Times, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, In Germany Russian
opposition leader Alexei Navalny was discharged from a hospital
after more than a month of treatment for poisoning with a Soviet-era
nerve agent.
   (CBS News, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Indonesia reported
4,465 new coronavirus cases, its biggest daily rise.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Israel reported
6,861 new coronavirus cases, a new record level of daily cases,
shortly before government officials were to meet to discuss
tightening a new nationwide lockdown.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Investigators from
Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said:
"Investigations had established criminal culpability on the part of
public officials in the purchase and supply of Covid-19 emergency
commodities at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) that led to
irregular expenditure of public funds."
   (BBC, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Lebanon’s Pres.
Michel Aoun asked for the world's help to rebuild the capital's main
port and neighborhoods that were blown away in last month’s
catastrophic explosion.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Mexico's death
toll due to the coronavirus rose to 74,949.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, In the Netherlands
a friend of World War II Jewish diarist Anne Frank laid the first
stone at a new memorial under construction in Amsterdam to honor all
Dutch victims of the Holocaust.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, In central Nigeria
at least 25 people have been killed after a fuel tanker exploded
following a collision with other vehicles on a major highway in
Lokoja.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Saudi Arabia’s
King Salman (84) made a rare address to the UN General Assembly,
using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime
— his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as
custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and his assertion that Iran is
responsible for much of the region’s instability.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Sierra Leone, a
West African country of 7.6 million people, has reported 2,174
confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 72 deaths.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, South Korea's
Defense Ministry said a South Korean official (47), who disappeared
off a government ship near the disputed sea boundary with North
Korea this week, may be in North Korea.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Swiss-based
companies Roche and AC Immune said an experimental Alzheimer's drug
failed to slow cognitive and functional decline in a trial, in a
fresh setback to efforts to fight the fatal dementia-causing
disease.
   (Reuters, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The United Arab
Emirates reported its highest daily number of coronavirus infections
since the start of the pandemic at 1,083 new cases. The UAE has
recorded 87,530 infections and 406 deaths from COVID-19 so far.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The UN said that
critical aid had been cut at 300 health centers across war-ravaged
Yemen due to a lack of funding, with lifesaving food handouts also
reduced.
   (AFP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro blasted United States sanctions in his
address to the UN General Assembly, while avoiding any mention of a
report accusing his government of crimes against humanity.
   (AP, 9/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, President Donald
Trump launched what aides termed a “vision” for health care heavy on
unfulfilled aspirations. He signed an executive order on a range of
issues, including protecting people with preexisting medical
conditions from insurance discrimination. But that right is already
guaranteed in the Obama-era health law his administration is asking
the Supreme Court to overturn.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, A US federal judge
stopped the 2020 census from finishing at month's end and suspended
a year-end deadline for delivering the numbers needed to decide how
many seats each state gets in Congress.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, A US State
Department official said the United States has renewed a waiver for
Iraq to import Iranian electricity imports, this time for 60 days.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Michael Pack,
President Donald Trump's appointee as head of US government
broadcasting operations, failed to appear at a House of
Representatives hearing, defying a committee subpoena amid concern
over editorial independence at the agency.
   (Reuters, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, The US Attorney's
Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania said that nine ballots
had been found in a dumpster next to the elections building with
seven cast for Trump and the other two resealed inside their
envelopes. A day later Luzerne County Manager said a temporary
independent contractor, who was assigned to sort mail at the
elections bureau "incorrectly discarded into the office trash UMOVA
ballots," which is an acronym for ballots from military and overseas
voters.
   (ABC News, 9/25/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, California to
date had 799,875 cases of coronavirus and 15,401 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 100,494 cases and 1,458 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 6,975,087 with the death toll at
202,738.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In California
Christopher Michael Straub (38), a known member of a white
supremacist gang, died during a shootout with police in Templeton,
San Luis Obispo County.
   (Insider, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, California-based
photorealist painter Robert Bechtle (b.1932) died at a hospice in
Berkeley.
   (SFC, 9/25/20, p.B1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Indiana
Christopher Vialva (40), a Black man, was executed by the federal
government for a crime he committed at age 19, even though his
attorney said prosecutors used inflammatory racial stereotypes
during the trial 20 years ago to land her client on death row.
   (NBC News, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Carol Paumgarten
(76), NYC dance studio founder, died in Glen Cove, NY. She had
founded the Steps on Broadway dance studio in 1979.
   (SFC, 10/10/20, p.C15)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, It was reported
that four former senior eBay employees, who participated in an
intimidation campaign aimed at silencing a Massachusetts couple who
ran a newsletter criticizing the E-commerce giant, have agreed to
plead guilty to cyberstalking charges.
   (The Independent, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Three US states
reported record one-day increases in new COVID-19 cases. Montana
reported 330 new coronavirus cases, South Dakota recorded 463 new
cases. Utah's governor said the state set a one-day record with
1,198 new cases.
   (Reuters, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, It was reported
that the Open Technology Fund (OTF) has had to stop all its
operations in Belarus, and many of its activities supporting civil
society in Hong Kong and Iran, because a congressionally-mandated
grant of nearly $20m has been withheld by a new Trump appointee,
Michael Pack.
   (The Guardian, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Belarus
anti-government rallies continued this morning despite the previous
night's crackdown. Hundreds of people in Minsk formed human chains
of solidarity in different parts of the city and obstructed vehicle
traffic by driving slowly or stopping altogether, honking in
protest. Authorities detained Lyudmila Kazak, a lawyer representing
Maria Kolesnikova, a top opposition activist who was jailed this
month amid mass protests against the country's authoritarian
president.
   (AP, 9/24/20)(AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Britain recorded
its highest number of daily cases of COVID-19 at 6,634, reflecting a
second wave of infections sweeping through the country but also a
much higher level of testing than during the first wave.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Europe's top court
(ECJ) issued a ruling that should ensure Germany can keep in prison
Christian Brueckner, a new suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann, the British toddler who vanished from a Portuguese resort 13
years ago.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Prominent Hong
Kong activist Joshua Wong was arrested for "unlawful assembly"
related to a 2019 protest against a government ban on face masks -
the latest in a series of high-profile arrests as the authorities
seek to crack down on the Chinese-ruled city’s pro-democracy
movement. Mr Wong was soon released, with a trial date set for
September 30.
   (The Telegraph, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Indonesia reported
4,634 coronavirus cases, its biggest daily rise for a second
consecutive day as new clusters appeared.
   (Reuters, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Iran's death toll
from the coronavirus rose by 175 to 25,015, the highest in the
Middle East, with the total number of identified cases spiking to
436,319.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Israel moved to
further tighten its 2nd countrywide lockdown as coronavirus cases
continued to soar, ordering all nonessential businesses to close and
requiring people to stay within 1,000 meters of their homes. Israel
is currently reporting nearly 7,000 new daily cases.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Italy allowed a
rescue ship with 125 migrants aboard to dock in Sardinia to escape
rough seas and said the migrants could eventually disembark in Italy
before being sent to other European countries.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, The Kosovo
Specialist Chambers in The Hague said former Kosovo Liberation Army
commander Salih Mustafa, an ethnic Albanian, has been arrested as
part of a war crimes against humanity probe from the 1998-1999 war
with Serbia.
   (SFC, 9/25/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, At least 16
migrants trying to reach Europe drowned in the Mediterranean Sea
when their small dinghy capsized off the coast of Libya. Libyan
fishermen spotted the sinking boat and managed to pull 22 people
from the water.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Amnesty
International said that thousands of Europe-bound migrants who were
intercepted and returned to Libyan shores this year were forcefully
disappeared after being taken out of unofficial detention centers
run by militias allied with the UN-supported government in the
capital, Tripoli.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Russia official
daily data showed that new cases of COVID-19 have risen to 6,595,
the biggest rise in over two months, and new infections in Moscow
surpassed 1,000 for the first time since late June.
   (Reuters, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Russia's sovereign
wealth fund and its partner Chemrar said the COVID-19 drug Avifavir
will be supplied to 17 additional countries.
   (Reuters, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, South Korea’s
Defense Ministry said North Korea shot and burned the body of a
South Korean official who disappeared from a government boat earlier
this week.
   (NBC News, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, It was reported
that the International Monetary Fund has signed off on Sudan's
economic reform program, a move that can eventually allow the
highly-indebted African country to get debt relief and move ahead
with rebuilding its battered economy as it transitions to democratic
rule.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Swedish
archaeologists reported finding the remains of a dog from more than
8,400 years ago at a human burial site in southern Sweden. The dog
was buried with a person near the town of Solvesborg.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, A UN migration
official said the number of migrants and refugees who are sleeping
rough in Bosnia keeps rising because of the persistent refusal by
authorities at different levels of government in the country to
coordinate their work and embrace “rational” solutions.
   (AP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Zimbabwe's Pres.
Emmerson Mnangagwa appealed at the United Nations for support to end
Western sanctions, saying that they set back development goals.
   (AFP, 9/24/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, A US federal
appeals court handed a win to the House of Representatives, saying
the Democratic-led chamber could proceed with a lawsuit challenging
President Donald Trump's diversion of funds to pay for a wall on the
US-Mexico border.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, A US federal judge
ruled that former oil industry attorney William Perry Pendley,
President Donald Trump's leading steward of public lands, has been
serving unlawfully, blocking him from continuing in the position in
the latest pushback against the administration's practice of filling
key positions without US Senate approval.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, California to
date had 801,923 cases of coronavirus and 15,480 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 101,110 cases and 1,477 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 7,027,910 with the death toll at
203,571.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Florida Governor
Ron DeSantis lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on businesses,
including restaurants and bars, saying the threat of the coronavirus
pandemic had eased sufficiently to allow the state to enter the
final phase of its reopening.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In Kentucky
Louisville police reported 24 arrests overnight on charges of
unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and riot in the first degree,
but no serious violence was reported. Those arrested included
Kentucky state representative Attica Scott as relative calm
prevailed overnight during a second night of protests.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Shawn Marshall
Myers (42) of Maryland was sentenced to a year in jail for throwing
parties at his home last March that violated the governor's
coronavirus restrictions on gatherings.
   (NBC News, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Oregon Governor
Kate Brown declared a weekend state of emergency for Portland,
saying "white supremacist groups" were traveling from out of state
to attend an event the Proud Boys say was organized to "end domestic
terrorism".
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Christian Dunbar,
the treasurer of Philadelphia, was fired after federal prosecutors
charged him with embezzling money from customers at a bank where he
previously worked and entering into a sham marriage to win US
citizenship.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Niki Williams
(46), a former Houston college admissions test administrator,
pleaded guilty to taking bribes in a cheating scheme designed to
inflate the scores used to determine whether prospective students
got into universities.
   (NBC News, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Tyler
Technologies, a Texas company that sells software that cities and
states use to display results on election night, was hit by
ransomware. Election officials use Tyler software to aggregate and
report election results in at least 20 places around the country.
   (NY Times, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Virginia Gov.
Ralph Northam announced that he and his wife have both tested
positive for the coronavirus, though he said he is showing no
symptoms.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Wisconsin, one of
the states where coronavirus cases are rising the fastest, reported
2,629 new infections, surpassing its previous record set a week
earlier.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, A single dose of
Johnson & Johnson's experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced a
strong immune response against the novel coronavirus, according to
interim results from an early-to-mid stage clinical trial released
today.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, The British
charity People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) said Magawa, a
giant African pouched rat, has been awarded its Gold Medal for his
"lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 landmines and
28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years in
Cambodia. Before Magawa, all the recipients were dogs.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, It was reported
that an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Clover
Biopharmaceuticals appeared to be safe and able to trigger immune
responses in animal tests. Clover began an early stage human trial
in Australia in June. Clover's vaccine candidate, which is partly
funded by a global vaccine research coalition, uses adjuvants,
ingredients that could boost immune responses, from Britain's GSK
and US-based Dynavax Technologies.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Mainland China
reported 15 new COVID-19 cases, compared with eight cases announced
a day earlier.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Scientists
reported that future moon explorers will be bombarded with two to
three times more radiation than astronauts aboard the International
Space Station, a health hazard that will require thick-walled
shelters for protection. China’s lander on the far side of the moon
is providing the first full measurements of radiation exposure from
the lunar surface.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Egyptian police
dispersed exceptionally rare, small street protests that erupted in
a northeastern province and arrested 10 demonstrators.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Egyptian naval
forces killed two Palestinian brothers fishing near the Gaza-Egypt
maritime frontier. A third brother was receiving treatment in Egypt.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, The European
Commission said it is appealing a court decision that Apple doesn't
have to repay 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes to
Ireland. The Irish government said it has always been clear that
Apple paid the correct amount of tax and did not get state aid. It
noted the appeal could take up to two years.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In France two
people were injured seriously, in a knife attack outside the former
Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper. Two suspects
were arrested. The lives of the wounded workers were not in danger.
The chief suspect in the stabbing told investigators he carried out
the attack in anger over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad
recently republished by satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
   (The Telegraph, 9/25/20)(AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In France angry
restaurant and bar owners in Marseilles demonstrated against a
government order to close all public venues to battle a resurgence
in virus infections.
   (SFC, 9/26/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, The eastern German
state of Brandenburg confirmed another two cases of African swine
fever (ASF) in wild boars. The new discoveries bring total confirmed
cases to 34 since the first one on Sept. 10, all in wild animals,
with no farm pigs affected.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Greek police
seized 500,000 ecstasy pills, with street value of 10 million euros,
and arrested three people in Thessaloniki.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, It was reported
that Japanese researchers have developed a blood test they say
appears to serve as an early warning system for serious cases of
COVID-19, and deployed 500 prototype machines to trial its
effectiveness nationwide.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In Mali former
Defence Minister Bah Ndaw (70) was picked by the coup leader,
Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until
elections, which are expected in 18 months. Col Goita will be his
vice-president.
   (BBC, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Mexico's confirmed
coronavirus cases rose to 720,858, according to updated data from
the health ministry, along with a reported death toll of 75,844.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In northeastern
Nigeria 18 people were left dead after an ambush on a government
convoy in Borno state. The Islamic State (IS) group said it was
behind the attack, claiming 30 people had been killed.
   (BBC, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, North Korea’s
leader, Kim Jong-un, offered a rare apology for the killing of a
South Korean official by soldiers from the North. The victim was
apparently trying to defect to the North.
   (NY Times, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Pakistani PM Imran
Khan assailed India’s Hindu nationalist government and its moves to
cement control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, calling India a state
sponsor of hatred and prejudice against Islam.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Russian President
Vladimir Putin proposed concluding a pact with Washington against
interfering in one another's elections and internal affairs, just
weeks before the US hosts a divisive presidential vote. Putin
proposed a cyber-truce.
   (AFP, 9/25/20)(Econ., 12/19/20, p.48)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, The mayor of
Moscow urged businesses to get more people to work from home as
Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit its highest since
June 23. Officials reported 7,212 new infections, bringing the
national case total to 1,136,048.
   (Reuters, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, It was reported
that Thailand is prosecuting Facebook, Google, and Twitter over a
failure to remove what it says are illegal posts.
   (BBC, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Turkey's police
arrested Ayhan Bilgen, the mayor of Kars. Dozens of other members of
Turkey's biggest Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party (HDP),
including three former parliamentarians, were also rounded up.
   (Econ., 10/17/20, p.44)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, A Ukrainian
military aircraft, carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets of a
military aviation school, crashed while coming in for landing at the
airport in Chuhuiv. Two people initially survived the crash, but one
later died in a hospital.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, UN diplomats said
Russia and China have blocked the official release of a report by UN
experts on Libya that accused its warring parties and their
international backers -- including Russia -- of violating a UN arms
embargo on the conflict-wracked country.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, The financial
scandal that toppled Cardinal Angelo Becciu (72), one of the
Vatican's most powerful officials, mounted with evidence that he
directed hundreds of thousands of euros of Vatican and Italian
church funds to a charity controlled by his brother. Pope Francis
fired him a day earlier and yanked his rights and privileges as a
cardinal.
   (AP, 9/25/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, President Donald
Trump announced that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the
Supreme Court as he aims to put a historic conservative stamp on the
high court just weeks before the election. Judge Barrett’s vote
record is almost uniformly conservative on abortion, gun rights,
discrimination and immigration.
   (AP, 9/26/20)(NY Times, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Thousands of
people packed the National Mall in downtown Washington to pray and
show their support for President Donald Trump.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Gov. Gavin Newsom
signed a law requiring California to house transgender inmates in
prisons based on their gender identity — but only if the state does
not have “management or security concerns.” Newsom also signed a
measure requiring health providers to track COVID-19 and all other
communicable diseases in the LGBTQ community.
   (AP, 9/26/20)(SFC, 9/28/20, p.B2)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, California to
date had 807,252 cases of coronavirus and 15,586 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 101,645 cases and 1,486 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 7,077,329 with the death toll at
204,486.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Minnesota,
Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin all reported record one-day
increases in coronavirus cases, as COVID-19 infections continued to
surge in the Midwest and rose nationally for the second straight
week.
   (The Week, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In Oregon law
enforcement declared an unlawful assembly in Portland late today as
hundreds of people protesting against police brutality gathered
downtown. Members of the right-wing Proud Boys held a rally in
Portland, raising the temperature of the city. The actual attendance
was reportedly far lower than anticipated, and there were few
reports of violence.
   (NY Times, 9/27/20)(The Week, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, The Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality lifted a water quality warning
for all but one Houston-area community. Lake Jackson remained under
warning of possible contamination of its water supply by Naegleria
fowleri, a deadly brain-eating microbe. The brain-eating amoeba
detected in the water supply led to the death of a boy (6) earlier
this month.
   (SSFC, 9/27/20, p.A10)(Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In Belarus
hundreds of women calling for the authoritarian president to step
down protested in Minsk, continuing the large demonstrations that
have rocked the country since early August. Police detained 150
protesters as anti-government protests spanned 22 cities.
   (AP, 9/26/20)(AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, British PM Boris
Johnson said that the coronavirus pandemic has frayed the bonds
between nations, and urged world leaders to unite against the
“common foe.” London police clashed with demonstrators as they broke
up a protest in Trafalgar Square against COVID-19 restrictions.
   (AP, 9/26/20)(SSFC, 9/27/20, p.A9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Chinese President
Xi Jinping said his approach to governing the Xinjiang region will
continue, at the end of a 2-day Communist Party conference. Xi
reportedly said "practice has proven" Beijing's "strategy" in
Xinjiang is "completely correct," and he also ordered the party to
consider it a political mission.
   (The Week, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, China said the WHO
had given it its blessing to start administering experimental
vaccines to people while clinical trials were still underway.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Coronavirus cases
in Colombia, which is nearly a month into a national reopening after
a long quarantine, surpassed 800,000, a day after deaths from
COVID-19 climbed above 25,000. The country has 806,038 confirmed
cases of the virus according to the health ministry, with 25,296
reported deaths.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In western Germany
hundreds of anti-coal activists staged protests against the
continued extraction and use of fossil fuels at the Garzweiler strip
mine, west of Cologne.
   (SSFC, 9/27/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, The Indian health
ministry reported more than 85,000 cases in the last 24 hours. Total
COVID-19 infections hit 5.9 million countrywide. India said it was
capping the price of liquid oxygen used to treat victims of novel
coronavirus and other respiratory diseases after complaints of
hoarding and shortages.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Indonesia reported
4,494 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases
to 271,339.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani authorized the country’s provinces to impose
lockdowns wherever necessary to stem a rapid rise in coronavirus
cases.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, It was reported
that Japan-based Mitsubishi Motors Corp will seek voluntary
retirement from 500 to 600 employees, mostly in management, from
mid-November to cut costs.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Moustapha Adib,
Lebanon’s prime minister-designate, resigned amid a political
impasse over government formation, dealing a blow to French
President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to break a dangerous stalemate
in the crisis-hit country. Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is
the leader of the Shi'ite Muslim Amal Movement, said his group would
stick to a French initiative after the plan was dealt a blow by
Adib's to step down.
   (AP, 9/26/20)(Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In North Macedonia
hundreds of Roma protested against police brutality in Bitola, the
country's second-largest city.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, The Philippines'
health ministry reported 2,747 new confirmed cases of coronavirus
infections and 88 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the
country to 301,256 cases and 5,284 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Poland reported
1,584 new coronavirus cases, taking the country closer to reimposing
restrictions. A day earlier Poland report a record high of 1,587
infections. The country has reported 85,980 infections and 2,424
deaths in total.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Russia's daily
tally of new coronavirus cases hit its highest level since June 22
at 7,523, bringing its total to 1,143,571.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, The Slovak
government said the country's daily count of new coronavirus cases
rose to 552, a fresh record high.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In northeastern
Syria car bomb killed at least seven civilians in a
Turkish-controlled area at the southern entrance to the city of Ras
al-Ayn.
   (AP, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Ukraine registered
a record 3,833 cases of new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up
from a previous record of 3,584 new cases reported on Sept. 17.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, A US federal judge
temporarily halted a Trump administration order that would have
blocked new downloads of TikTok in the United States, granting the
Chinese-owned app a reprieve.
   (NY Times, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, A federal appeals
court temporarily blocked a six-day extension for counting absentee
ballots in the battleground state of Wisconsin ordered by a lower
court to accommodate an expected historic surge in voting by mail
due to the coronavirus crisis. For now ballots are due by 8 p.m. on
Election Day, a provisional win for Republicans and President Trump.
On Sept. 29 the appeals court upheld the six-day extension.
   (The Week, 9/28/20)(SFC, 9/30/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, The NY Times
published an investigation of Donald Trump's finances, based on
thousands of pages of documents that had not previously been public.
They showed that Trump paid no taxes in 11 of the 18 years between
2000 and 2017. In both 2016 and 2017, he paid only $750.
   (NY Times, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, It was reported
that US military suicides have increased by as much as 20% this year
compared to the same period in 2019, and some incidents of violent
behavior have spiked as service members struggle under COVID-19,
war-zone deployments, national disasters and civil unrest.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, It was reported
that experts are warning of a "feral swine bomb" that could go off
at any time, as the numbers of hybrid wild pigs have soared to six
million and spread from 17 to 39 US states over the last three
decades.
   (SSFC, 9/27/20, p.B10)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In California the
Zogg Fire started in Shasta County and soon spread to neighboring
Tehama County. By the next day 4 people were killed. On Oct. 9
PG&E said fire investigators have taken possession of equipment
belonging to the company. The fire ended up covering 56,338 acres
and destroyed 204 buildings. The Glass Fire began in northern
California. It ended up burning 67,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma
Counties.
   (AP, 10/9/20)(SSFC, 11/8/20, p.D1)(SFC, 8/14/21,
p.C1)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, California to
date had 809,414 cases of coronavirus and 15,607 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 102,027 cases and 1,490 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 7,110,781 with the death toll at
204,750.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Florida Brad
Parscale, President Donald Trump's former campaign chief, was
tackled to the ground by SWAT officers when he didn't obey commands
and was taken into custody under state guidelines allowing for an
involuntary mental illness commitment. Officers seized 10 firearms,
which included two shotguns, two rifles and several handguns.
   (NBC News, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, It was reported
that Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is
shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local
Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of
their birth to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community
of as many as 250,000 members now counts fewer than 700.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Fighting erupted
anew between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed
separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, within Azerbaijan, and a top
territorial official said 16 people were killed and more than 100
wounded.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Belarus detained
350 protesters as anti-government protests spanned 22 cities. About
100,000 demonstrators marched in Minsk demanding the resignation of
Pres. Lukashenko.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In southwestern
China 16 people died in a coal mine in Chongqing due to high levels
of carbon monoxide.
   (SFC, 9/28/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Indonesia reported
3,874 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases
to 275,213, official data from the COVID-19 task force showed. The
country also reported 78 new deaths, bringing the total number of
fatalities to 10,386.
   (Reuters, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of
up to 430 miles, in the latest escalation of tensions between Tehran
and Washington.
   (The Telegraph, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, The solemn Jewish
holiday of Yom Kippur began in a nation already under a sweeping
coronavirus lockdown. Israelis have been ordered to stay within
1,000 meters (yards) of their homes throughout the High Holidays,
which began last week with the Jewish New Year and continue to
mid-October.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In northern
Lebanon gunmen in a car opened fire on an army post, triggering a
shootout in which two soldiers and one gunman were killed. The
shootout occurred as the army was engaged in a heavy exchange of
fire with a group of militants linked to Sunni extremists.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Mali’s
transitional Pres. Bah N'Daw appointed former minister of foreign
affairs, Moctar Ouane, as the West African nation’s prime minister
days after being sworn into office.
   (AP, 9/27/20)(SFC, 9/29/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Mexico the
bullet-ridden bodies of 11 people, including four women, were found
at a bar near Jaral del Progreso, Guanajuato state.
   (SFC, 9/29/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Nigeria
militants linked to the Islamic State group (IS) used a donkey
strapped with explosives to ambush the convoy of the governor of
north-eastern Borno state. A number of insurgents were killed in the
ensuing shoot-out.
   (BBC, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Romania about
19 million registered voters chose local officials, council
presidents and mayors to fill more than 43,000 positions across the
nation. The left-leaning Social Democrat Party, known as PSD, lost
the most closely watched contest — the one for the mayor of the
capital, Bucharest.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Swiss voters
overwhelmingly rejected a Eurosceptic party’s attempt to restrict
immigration from the EU in a referendum seen as a key test of
attitudes towards foreigners.
   (The Telegraph, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Yemen’s warring
sides agreed to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners, marking the
first phase of a prisoner-release plan reached earlier this year.
   (AP, 9/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, US Secretary of
Commerce Wilbur Ross said the 2020 census will end Oct. 5, despite a
federal judge's ruling last week allowing the head count of every US
resident to continue through the end of October.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, It was reported
that the recent mass layoffs at Fox News—an estimated body count of
around 70, amounting to a little less than 3 percent of the cable
channel’s workforce—signal what current and former employees
describe as the purposeful devaluing of fact-based journalism in
favor of right-wing opinion, race-baiting, and conspiracy-mongering
at the top-rated, Donald Trump-friendly cable outlet.
   (The Daily Beast, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Wildfires in
Northern California's wine country spread quickly over the last 24
hours, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The
Glass Fire, which started early yesterday in Napa County as a
20-acre brush fire, raged through Napa and Sonoma counties, tripling
in size to around 56.6 square miles (146.59 square km) without any
containment. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in
three counties because of the Glass and Zogg fires that have claimed
three lives and burned thousands of acres in the state.
   (The Week, 9/28/20)(AP, 9/28/20)(AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Democratic Gov.
Gavin Newsom formally submitted a letter to the White House asking
for a major disaster declaration. In mid October President Donald
Trump's administration rejected California’s request for disaster
relief funds aimed at cleaning up the damage from six recent
wildfires among the siege of deadly and destructive blazes that have
scorched the state.
   (AP, 10/15/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, California to
date had 811,141 cases of coronavirus and 15,614 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 102,517 cases and 1,494 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 7,147,070 with the death toll at
205,024.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Florida US
immigration agents deported Alcedis Ortiz (42) to Colombia even as
he awaited trial for sexually assaulting a girl (12).
   (SFC, 10/13/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Pennsylvania
officers found Mia Green (29), a Philadelphia resident and Black
transgender woman, shot in the neck in the passenger’s seat of a car
driven by Abdullah lbn El-Amin Jaamia (28) when he was stopped for
running a stop sign. The next day Jaamia was charged with murder and
related offenses.
   (NBC, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, The US health
regulator put a hold on Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc's plans to start
final trials of its coronavirus vaccine as the agency seeks more
information, including details on a delivery device used to inject
genetic material into cells.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, General Motors
confirmed that it will repay Ohio $28 million in state tax
incentives after it closed its Lordstown Assembly plant in March
2019 and failed to retain 3,700 jobs in exchange for the credits.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Seventy world
leaders signed the “Leaders Pledge for Nature” and vowed to take
steps to halt the catastrophic human-made decline. Non-signers
included President Donald Trump, his Brazilian counterpart Jair
Bolsonaro and Australian PM Scott Morrison.
   (https://tinyurl.com/y64tmyrf)(NBC News,
10/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Armenia and
Azerbaijani forces continued fighting over the disputed separatist
region of Nagorno-Karabakh after hostilities broke out the day
before. According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 59 servicemen on
their side have been killed so far.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Australian biotech
company Ena Respiratory said that a nasal spray it is developing to
improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu
significantly reduced the growth of the coronavirus in a recent
study on animals. Australia has so far reported 875 deaths and just
over 27,000 coronavirus cases, far less than the numbers reported in
other developed countries.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Botswana extended
its state of emergency for a further six months to combat the spread
of COVID-19. The country has reported 3,172 confirmed cases of
COVID-19, including 16 deaths.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, A British judge
restored Uber’s transportation license in London, one of the
ride-hailing company’s most important global markets, where
regulators had threatened to ban its cars for safety concerns.
   (NY Times, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Electric vehicle
maker Xpeng Inc said it would start building a new car plant in
China's southern city of Guangzhou with 4 billion yuan ($590
million) in financing from the local government.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, The Czech Republic
reported 1,305 new cases of coronavirus and 15 related deaths. The
figures brought the total number of cases to 64,597 and deaths to
606 in the country of 10.7 million people.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Germany confirmed
one more case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the
eastern state of Brandenburg. There have been 36 confirmed cases
since the first one on Sept. 10.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Greek authorities
said 12 crew members on the Mein Schiff 6, a Maltese-flagged cruise
ship carrying more than 1,500 people on a Greek islands tour, have
tested positive for coronavirus and have been isolated on board.
Health inspectors the next day said that an emergency docking order
for a cruise ship near Athens can now be lifted after crew members
suspected of having been infected with COVID-19 tested negative.
   (AP, 9/28/20)(AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, India’s confirmed
coronavirus tally reached 6 million, keeping the country second to
the United States in number of reported cases. The Health Ministry
reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving
the overall total to 6,074,703. At least 1,039 deaths were recorded
in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Iraq a Katyusha
rocket attack struck a residential home killing six civilians, all
women and children. Security officials believed the rocket was
intended for nearby Baghdad airport. Shiite militias aligned with
Iran were believed responsible.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, SoftBank's
robotics arm said it will bring a food service robot developed by
California-based Bear Robotics to Japan as restaurants grapple with
labor shortages and a new socially distanced norm as a result of the
novel coronavirus. The robot named Servi will act as a sort of
waiter.
   (Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Kenya a man
died outside an emergency ward of Kenyatta National Hospital in
Nairobi, after he was not treated for hours by striking staff.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In Libya masked
militiamen abducted some 350 migrants from the town of al-Ajaylat,
around 80 km west of the capital, Tripoli. Most of the migrants
managed to escape while some others were released. After two weeks
at least 60 migrants, including two dozen children, remained in
“appalling” conditions.
   (AP, 10/10/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Pakistan’s
anti-graft body arrested Shahbaz Sharif, the opposition leader of
the Pakistan Muslim League party, over his alleged involvement in a
money laundering case after a court rejected bail for him. The move
came just before planned protests next month by his party seeking to
force PM Imran Khan's resignation.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, The authorities in
Pakistan indicted former President Asif Ali Zardari on
money-laundering charges. His supporters said the charges were part
of a wider trend targeting politicians opposed to PM Imran Khan.
Zardari, the widower of former PM Benazir Bhutto, served as
president from 2008 to 2013.
   (NY Times, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Saudi Arabia said
its security forces uncovered a “terrorist cell” with alleged ties
to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and have detained 10 people in
connection.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Zimbabwe’s schools
reopened for pupils in two grades as part of a gradual process that
will see all pupils return to class by early November. But many
teachers did not report for work, as their union demanded that the
government should first pay them a COVID-19 allowance and improve
their salaries and working conditions.
   (AP, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, The first of three
scheduled debates between Trump and Biden deteriorated into bitter
taunts and chaos as the Republican president repeatedly interrupted
his Democratic rival with jabs that overshadowed any substantive
discussion of the crises threatening the nation. Trump unleashed a
torrent of fabrications and fear-mongering in a belligerent debate
with Joe Biden, at one point claiming the US death toll would have
been 10 times higher under the Democrat because he wanted open
borders in the pandemic. Biden preached no such thing.
   (AP, 9/29/20)(AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, The White House
blocked a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February, a step
that would have displeased the politically powerful tourism industry
in the crucial swing state of Florida.
   (NY Times, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, The US Department
of State said it is offering rewards for information on a trio of
former Venezuelan officials in major drug-trafficking cases. They
included Pedro Luis Martin-Olivares (53), Rodolfo McTurk-Mora (58)
and Jesus Alfredo Itriago (62).
   (Miami Herald, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Timothy Ray Brown
(54), the first person known to be cured of HIV infection, died in
Palm Springs. Brown had received bone marrow and stem cell
transplants in Berlin in 2007 and 2008, which for years seemed to
have eliminated both his leukemia and HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Two fast-moving
wildfires in California’s wine country burned more than 67,000 acres
over the last two days. Three deaths brought to 29 the number of
people killed since mid-August in California's worst wildfire year
on record in terms of acreage burned.
   (NY Times, 9/29/20)(Reuters, 9/28/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, In southern
California brothers, Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were killed
after they were struck by a speeding Mercedes, while walking with
their family at a crosswalk in Westlake Village. Rebecca Grossman
(57), the chair and co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and
the former publisher of Westlake magazine, was arrested on suspicion
of manslaughter and driving under the influence (DUI).
   (The Independent, 12/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Australian-born
singer Helen Reddy (78) died in Los Angeles. Her 1972 hit song “I Am
Woman” became a feminist anthem.
   (NY Times, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said New York City will impose fines on people who refuse to
wear a face covering as the rate of positive tests for the novel
coronavirus climbed above 3% for the first time in months.
   (Reuters, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Seattle became the
second major US city, after New York, to approve a minimum wage for
Uber and Lyft drivers, requiring the companies to pay drivers
roughly on par with the city’s $16 hourly minimum wage.
   (NY Times, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Disney said it
would eliminate 28,000 theme park jobs in the US, about 25 percent
of its domestic resort work force, in a sign of the pandemic’s
ongoing economic damage.
   (NY Times, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, JPMorgan Chase
admitted to manipulating the markets for precious metals and US
Treasuries, agreeing to pay $920 million in fines and penalties for
the illegal behavior.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Universal Health
Services said its network system remained offline after its computer
system was hit by a ransomware attack over the weekend. Computer
systems at the hospital chain's 400-plus locations reportedly could
be out for days.
   (Reuters, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Armenia said one
of its warplanes was shot down by a fighter jet from Azerbaijan’s
ally Turkey, killing the pilot, in fighting over the separatist
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied it.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen killed,
while Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said 10 civilians were
killed on its side.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Britain and Canada
imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his
son and other senior government officials following the disputed
presidential election and a crackdown on protesters in Belarus.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, British
broadcaster David Attenborough led a call from conservation groups
for the world to invest $500 billion a year to halt the destruction
of nature, warning that the future of the planet was in "grave
jeopardy."
   (Reuters, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, France's
environmental minister announced a gradual ban on using wild animals
in traveling circuses, on keeping dolphins and killer whales in
captivity in marine parks and on raising mink on fur farms.
   (SFC, 9/30/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Human rights
watchdog Amnesty International said that it is halting its operation
in India, citing reprisals by the government and the freezing of its
bank accounts by Indian authorities.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Hundreds of
Israeli motorists protested in Jerusalem against a proposed measure
to curtail public demonstrations during the current nationwide
lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Italian
carabinieri arrested Alice Brignoli, a female foreign fighter, after
returning her and her four young children to Italy from a displaced
person’s camp in Kurdish-controlled territory. Her Moroccan-born
husband, Mohamed Koraichi, died earlier this month at the camp from
an intestinal infection.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Newly elected
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga told Russian President Vladimir Putin
that he wants to settle their territorial dispute and sign a peace
treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Sheikh Sabah Al
Ahmad Al Sabah (91), the ruler of Kuwait, died. He drew on his
decades as the oil-rich nation’s top diplomat to push for closer
ties to Iraq after the 1990 Gulf War and solutions to other regional
crises. Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah (83) became the
oil-rich nation's new ruling emir.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Former Nissan
Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn made a new public appearance in
Lebanon during which he launched an initiative with a local
university to help the country that is undergoing a severe economic
and financial crisis.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, A criminal court
in North Macedonia sentenced former conservative prime minister
Nikola Gruevski (in absentia) to 1 1/2 years in prison, and handed
suspended sentences to six other party members and supporters for
orchestrating violence in 2013.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, A Swedish
prosecutor indicted on charges of aggravated assault a surgeon
believed to have made headlines in 2011 for carrying out the world’s
the first stem-cell windpipe transplants, saying three people had
laboratory-made tracheas implanted at Sweden’s leading hospital. Dr.
Paolo Macchiarini was once considered a pioneer in regenerative
medicine, credited with creating the world’s first windpipe
partially made from a patient’s own stem cells.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Aid group Save the
Children said an additional 700,000 children in Syria face hunger
because of the country's badly damaged economy and the impact of
coronavirus restrictions.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, The UN General
Assemble concluded with a parade of divisive grievances that echoed
when the final gavel fell. Assembly President Volkan Bozkir ended
the six-day meeting on an upbeat note, returning to the need for
multilateralism and unity.
   (AP, 9/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Wildlife officials
in Zimbabwe said they suspect a bacterial disease is responsible for
the deaths of more than 30 elephants since late August.
   (BBC, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, President Donald
Trump tried to walk back his refusal to outright condemn the Proud
boys, a far right fascist group, during his debate with Democrat Joe
Biden, but the inflammatory moment was far from the first time the
president has failed to denounce white supremacists or has advanced
racist ideas.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The Trump
Administration imposed sanctions on entities and individuals in
Syria as part of Washington’s pressure campaign against President
Bashar Assad and his inner circle.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, A US federal
appeals court threw out an order requiring AbbVie Inc and a partner
to disgorge $448 million in profit for trying to illegally keep
generic versions of the blockbuster testosterone replacement drug
AndroGel off the market.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The US Customs and
Border Protection's Office of Trade issued a ban against Malaysian
palm oil producer FGV Holdings Berhad over allegations of forced
labor and other abuses. A day later the company pledged to clear its
name.
   (SFC, 10/2/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Oscar-winning film
directors James Cameron, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese joined
forces with movie theater owners in an appeal for financial help,
saying they feared for the future of the industry.
   (AP, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed AB979 into law. The measure requires state
companies to hire diverse board members and have at least one
director from an underrepresented community by the end of 2021.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In California the
Vallejo Police Department fired police Officer Ryan McMahon for his
involvement in the fatal 2019 shooting of local rapper Willie McCoy,
who was shot 55 times in 3.5 seconds. McMahon was one of six
officers involved in the shooting.
   (NBC News, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In northern
California Russian hacker Yevgeniy Alexandrovich Nikulin (32), who
stole customer data from LinkedIn and Dropbox nearly a decade ago,
was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.
   (NBC News, 9/30/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, California to
date had 817,410 cases of coronavirus and 15,836 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 103,357 cases and 1,522 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 7,227,799 with the death toll at
206,859.  Â
   (sfist.com, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Louisiana Gov.
John Bel Edwards said his state will get $215 million in BP oil
spill money for two projects planned to restore more than 4,6000
acres of marsh and other habitat in the New Orleans area. The 2010
spill spewed more than 1000 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of
Mexico.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Michigan former
UAW president Dennis Williams (67), charged with conspiring with
other union officials to embezzle UAW funds, pleaded guilty.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The governor of
Mississippi, Tate Reeves, refused to extend the state’s mask
mandate. “We should not use the heavy hand of government more than
it is justified,” Reeves said.
   (NY Times, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, A judge in
Brooklyn sentenced Clare Bronfman, an heir to the Seagram’s liquor
fortune, to more than six years in prison for her role in Nxivm, a
purported self-help group that members said was an abusive cult.
   (NY Times, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, New York City
restaurants reopened indoor dining at 25% capacity, welcoming
patrons hungry for food and company in the pandemic with tight
safety measures in candle-lit rooms and behind kitchen doors.
   (Reuters, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The number of
reported coronavirus cases in Oklahoma increased by 980, with 13
additional deaths. A total of 1,031 people have died of the virus
there.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The top US
prosecutor in Oregon rejected a request from Portland's mayor to end
the federal deputation of dozens of police officers as part of the
response to ongoing protests, saying it was the only way to end
“lawlessness.”
   (AP, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, A federal judge
blocked a Tennessee law that would have required women undergoing
drug-induce abortions be informed the procedure could be reversed.
The law would also have banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat is
detected, about six weeks into pregnancy.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Wisconsin a
record number of people with COVID-19 were hospitalized. Of those
737 patients, 205 were in intensive care, with spikes in cases in
northern parts of the state driving up the numbers. The state also
reported its highest single-day number of deaths — 27 — raising the
toll to 1,327.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Google unveiled
its $700 Pixel 5 phone to become available on Oct. 15.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.C2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Palantir
Technologies began trading at $10 on the NYSE, up from a reference
price of $7.25 set the night before. The company helps government
agencies analyze vast amounts of digital data.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.C3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals said its experimental two-antibody cocktail reduced
viral levels and improved symptoms in non-hospitalized COVID-19
patients, enhancing its chances of becoming a treatment for the
disease.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Twitter Inc said
it had removed 130 accounts, which appeared to originate in Iran, as
they were attempting to disrupt the public conversation during the
first U.S. presidential debate between President Donald Trump and
Democrat Joe Biden.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Argentine
cartoonist Joaquin Lavado (b.1932), aka Quino, died in Mendoza. His
Mafalda comic strip, featuring a mop-haired, rebellious girl (6),
appeared for nine years (1964-1973).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quino)(Econ.,
10/17/20, p.30)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that coders and software engineers, many of whom are linked to the
state-sponsored Hi-Tech Park in Minsk, have formed a hacking
collective called Cyber Partisans which is wreaking havoc as
Lukashenko tries to quell a growing revolution.
   (The Daily Beast, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Belgium's official
death toll from coronavirus infections crossed the 10,000 mark.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Bosnia two
people were killed and 18 others were hurt in a clash among migrants
in the northwestern part of the country.
   (AP, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The British
government hailed a historic fisheries treaty with Norway and
offered Brussels a three year transition period on fishing during
trade negotiations with the EU.
   (The Telegraph, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, England's chief
medic said outbreaks of COVID-19 are accelerating quite rapidly in
the north west and north east of England and there has been a
significant uptick in the number of people being admitted to
intensive care. Britain reported 7,108 new COVID-19 cases, the
second day in a row there have been over 7,000 cases as COVID-19
infections spike.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Chinese President
Xi Jinping urged global cooperation to protect the Earth's
biodiversity but stopped short of making a major environmental
commitment at a UN summit notable for the absence of his US
counterpart Donald Trump.
   (AFP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Mainland China
reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 30, down from 19 a day
earlier.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, EU officials said
a multinational police operation this week led to the arrest of a
dozen suspected smugglers who take migrants across the English
Channel in small boats.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, European
scientists reported that genes that some people have inherited from
their Neanderthal ancestors may increase their likelihood of
suffering severe forms of COVID-19.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that France's top appeals court has agreed to extradite the alleged
financier of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Félicien Kabuga, to face
trial in Tanzania.
   (BBC, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, An Indian court
acquitted all 32 people accused of crimes in the 1992 attack and
demolition of a 16th century mosque.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that a large new study in India found that children of all ages can
spread the coronavirus. The study is not the last word in the
debate, but it adds to the evidence that school openings are likely
to lead to new outbreaks.
   (NY Times, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Iran reported
3,582 new cases had been identified in the previous 24 hours. The
death toll from the coronavirus rose by 183 to 26,169, the highest
in the Middle East, with the total number of identified cases rising
to 457,219.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Israel's
parliament passed a law that would allow the government to curtail
public protests during the country's nationwide coronavirus
lockdown, a measure that drew fierce opposition a day earlier.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Israel-based
Enlivex Therapeutics Ltd reported positive results in a clinical
trial of the immunotherapy firm's Allocetra treatment in COVID-19
patients in severe or critical condition.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Japan a high
court held the government responsible for the 2011 Fukushima nuclear
disaster ruling that the state and the plant's operator must pay
about $9.5 million in damages to survivors.
   (SFC, 10/1/20, p.A3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Japan's defence
ministry unveiled a record $52-billion budget request in a push to
maintain military readiness under pressure from China and North
Korea.
   (AFP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Japan Takahiro
Shiraishi (29), dubbed the "Twitter killer" for luring his victims
on social media, admitted in court to murdering nine people.
Shiraishi is also accused of dismembering his victims and storing
body parts in coolboxes. Lawyers for Shiraishi argued that charges
should be reduced because the victims had expressed suicidal
thoughts and gave their consent to be killed.
   (The Telegraph, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Jordan registered
1,767 new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily tally since the start
of the outbreak. Officials warned that a wider spread could force a
return to a complete lockdown. Jordan's total number of confirmed
infections now stands at 11,816, with 61 deaths.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Kuwait’s Sheikh
Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah (83) was sworn in before parliament as the
ruling emir of the tiny oil-rich country.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Northern Ireland
reported a record number of daily cases of COVID-19 for the fourth
time in six days, a day after the regional government introduced
less strict closing times for pubs than the rest of the United
Kingdom.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, A North Korean
refugee has recounted how she was repeatedly raped by two South
Korean spies, shedding a fresh spotlight on the widespread abuse of
women during the dangerous process of defecting from the
authoritarian North.
   (The Telegraph, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Romania reported
that the number of new coronavirus infections rose by a record 2,158
in the past 24 hours, as cases surged across central Europe.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that authorities in Sierra Leone have imposed a travel ban on former
President Ernest Bai Koroma and several officials who served during
his term over allegations of corruption.
   (BBC, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Spain’s foreign
minister said her country rejects Turkey’s unilateral search for
energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, adding that such
actions hinder a negotiated way out of a territorial dispute that
has ratcheted up regional tensions.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Ukraine said it
has registered a record 4,027 cases of new coronavirus in the past
24 hours, up from a previous record of 3,833 new cases reported on
Sept. 26. A total of 208,959 cases were registered as of today, with
4,129 deaths.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, In Ukraine an
American woman who worked for the United States Embassy in Kyiv was
found unconscious with a head injury near the railway tracks in a
park not far from the embassy. She died in a hospital later in the
day. Police were investigating the death as a murder but at the same
time had not ruled out an accident.
   (AP, 10/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The United Arab
Emirates recorded its highest daily total of infections for the
second day in a row, with 1,158 new cases.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it is time for countries to
start using money from their national COVID-19 recovery and response
plans to help fund the World Health Organization's global vaccine
plan.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The UN nuclear
watchdog (IAEA) said it has inspected the second of two suspected
former secret atomic sites in Iran, as agreed with Tehran last month
in a deal that ended a standoff over access.
   (Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, It was reported
that a wave of demonstrations has erupted across Venezuela as angry
citizens flout lockdown restrictions to demand an end to worsening
shortages of everything from electricity and water to fuel and
household supplies.
   (The Guardian, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, The second of
three ships loaded with gasoline from Iran approached fuel-starved
Venezuela amid simmering social unrest over a lack of goods and
services that's sparked protests across the South American nation.
The Iranian tanker Forest arrived a day earlier carrying 275,000
barrels of gasoline. The Faxon — the third Iranian tanker en route —
is expected to reach port this weekend. The flotilla is delivering
an estimated 815,000 total barrels of fuel. Venezuela’s domestic
consumption is around 100,000 barrels a day.
   (AP, 9/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, The US Pentagon
acknowledged that China's navy has become the world's largest.
   (Econ., 9/26/20, p.28)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, The US State Dept.
published a "Cuba prohibited accomodations list." It blacklisted 433
hotels controlled by the government or "well-connected insiders."
   (Econ., 10/10/20, p.30)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Sophie Zhang, a
Facebook data scientist, was fired. On her final day, she posted a
7,800-word memo to the company’s internal forum. She outlined
evidence that governments in countries like Azerbaijan and Honduras
were using fake accounts to influence the public. Elsewhere, such as
India and Ecuador, Zhang found coordinated activity intended to
manipulate public opinion, although it wasn’t clear who was behind
it. Facebook, she said, didn't take her findings seriously.
   (https://tinyurl.com/63x78eje)(AP, 5/16/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Bangladesh asked
China to finance a $1 billion water-management project.
   (Econ., 9/19/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Britain-based
Birdlife International, an umbrella group of NGOs, expelled its
longstanding member from Taiwan, the Chinese Wild Bird Federation
(CWBF). The CWBF had refused not to take any "political" stances
regarding Taiwan's int'l. status.
   (Econ., 9/26/20, p.41)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Evergrande, China's
biggest home-builder, announced a 30% discount on all properties.
The company had debt of nearly $120 billion owed to 171 domestic
banks and 121 other financial firms.
   (Econ., 10/3/20, p.60)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, In China the new BMW
ix3 electric car rolled off the production line in Shenyang, where
it is wholly developed by BMW and its Chinese state-run partner,
Brilliance Auto.
   (Econ., 1/9/21, p.54)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Ryu Hyun Woo, North
Korea's acting ambassador to Kuwait, defected to South Korea, the
latest in a recent string of high-profile escapes from the isolated
country. This was only made public in 2021.
   (The Telegraph, 1/25/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Poland reached a deal
with unions to close its coal mines by 2049.
   (Econ., 1/30/21, p.73)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Telefonica, a Spanish
multinational telecommunications company, teamed with Japan-based
Rakuten to deploy Openran more widely in its 5G networks by 2025.
   (Econ., 11/7/20, p.16)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Ugandan
Catherine Nakalembe, an assistant professor at the University of
Maryland's geographical sciences department, won the 2020 Africa
Food Prize for her work on using satellite data to study agriculture
and weather patterns, alongside Burkina Faso's Dr André Bationo for
his work on fertilizer.
   (BBC, 12/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, The Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum released a report listing 920 cases of torture,
extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests and assaults on citizens by
the security forces in the first 180 days of its coronavirus
lockdown.
   (Econ., 10/17/20, p.52)
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