The number of coronavirus cases in the United States topped the 1 million mark Tuesday even as several states began taking small steps to reopen for business. According to the count by Johns Hopkins University, 1 million is by far…
Category: Int’l relations
WHO and China: A case of geo-political misdirection
By Hassanal Noor Rashid WHO IS AT FAULT? The Covid-19 pandemic has been a real roller-coaster ride as far as geopolitics is concerned. Through the chaos and the barrage of information and updates on the on-going pandemic, there are still…
Covid-19 Aid Limits in Bangladesh Imperil Rohingya – HRW
Refugee Camp Restrictions Threaten ‘Critical Services’ Bangkok – The Bangladesh government’s new Covid-19 restrictions on access to aid put Rohingya refugees at greater risk, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. The lockdown measures cut humanitarian workers in refugee camps by 80…
400 CSOs for fair benefit sharing of corona medical products
Geneva, 27 Apr (Kanaga Raja) – Nearly 400 civil society organizations (CSOs) and individuals have called for the operationalization of fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from the sharing of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) digital sequence information and…
WHO initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 tools
Austin, Texas, 27 Apr (Edward Hammond) – At a dramatic press conference on Friday (24 April) afternoon in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled what it calls a “landmark collaboration” that aims for “equitable global access to innovative tools…
Protect workers both now, after lockdowns ease: ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has urged governments to take action to prevent and control COVID-19 in workplace, with active involvement and dialogue with employers’ and workers’ organisations as the pressure mounts on countries to ease their lockdown restrictions
Global coronavirus death toll 211,609; cases 3,064,895
The global death toll from coronavirus reached 211,609 on Tuesday morning as countries around the world prepare to ease restrictions on movement.
‘Media houses are not above accountability’
ARTICLE 19 condemns the sackimg of journalists amid coronavirus crisis Dhaka, April 27 – ARTICLE 19 has strongly condemned the ‘retrenchment policy for journalists’ of some media houses, including the daily Alokito Bangladesh and Gazi TV (GTV), during the crisis…
UK PM Boris Johnson to return to work Monday
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work on Monday, a month after he was diagnosed with the virus.
Austalia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy start easing lockdown
With Australia’s virus curve not just flat but “crushed” – as some keen local tabloids are describing it – restrictions are easing in some areas. Currently, for the most part, Australians everywhere are still required to stay at home unless…
What makes a difference on COVID-19 death rate?
While governments worldwide are still racing against the clock to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) within their own countries, U.S. President Donald Trump took comfort in his accusations over death toll numbers in different countries. The U.S. president said…
Global executives express severe pessimism amidst covid-19
As society-wide lockdowns ensue, the Economist Intelligence Unit reveals private-sector sentiment through its Global Business Barometer. • Sentiment about the global economy over the next three months registered at -39.2 on a scale of -50 (much worse) to +50 (much…
Chinese firm donates protective gears to Bangladesh
China Machinery Import and Export Co (CMC) has donated urgent anti-epidemic materials to Bangladesh as part of its social responsibilities during this global coronavirus pandemic. The items include 10 lakh masks, 10,000 protective suits, 10,000 goggles and 2,000 forehead thermometres.…
Disclose distribution inventory of PPE supply: ARTICLE 19
Dhaka, April 24 – Since the beginning of the serge Coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh front line doctors, nurses and health workers have been complaining about not having a sufficient number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
COVID-19 cases China’s in Hubei drop below 50 for first time
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hubei, the central China province hardest hit by the epidemic, dropped to below 50 Thursday for the first time, a health official said Friday.
PM places five proposals, for global partnership on COVID-19
DHAKA (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called for forging a collective global partnership and greater unity to fight the coronavirus pandemic as she placed a five-point proposal that includes devising meaningful strategies. “The world is perhaps facing the…
China to donate $30 million more to WHO
China has decided to give another US$ 30 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of global efforts to fight COVID-19 and the construction of public health systems in developing countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Thursday.…
WHO had been warning on COVID-19 from day one, says DG
Geneva, 21 Apr (Kanaga Raja) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has been warning about the novel coronavirus (and the disease it causes in humans) from day one, and nothing had been hidden from the United States, the WHO Director-General…
Chinese Communist Party provides 10,000 face masks to BNP
The Communist Party of China (CCP) has provided BNP with 10,000 masks to strengthen the party’s efforts to fight against deadly coronavirus.
Dhaka for voluntary fund, softer loans among OIC countries
Bangladesh has said the OIC Member States require a regional and global response based on unity, solidarity and compassion to overcome the challenges of this pandemic.
US State Missouri sues China over virus pandemic
The US state of Missouri is suing the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party over what it calls deliberate deception leading to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Conspiracy theorists burn 5G towers claiming link to virus
The CCTV footage from a Dutch business park shows a man in a black cap pouring the contents of a white container at the base of a cellular radio tower. Flames burst out as the man jogs back to his…
Trump temporarily suspending immigration for virus threat
Washington, AP/UNB, April 21 – President Donald Trump on Monday said he would temporarily suspend immigration into the US because of the coronavirus outbreak. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect…
Dhaka joins OIC EC’s meet over COVID-19 Tuesday
News Desk Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary foreign ministerial level meeting of its Executive Committee (EC) as a part of its effort to address issues of COVID-19 pandemic via video conferencing Tuesday.
Seoul looking into reports about Kim Jong Un’s health
Seoul, AP/UNB, April 21 – South Korea is looking into US media reports claiming that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in serious condition after surgery.
Covid-19: IFAD fund to help check rural food crisis launched
Rome, 20 April 2020 – With the COVID-19 pandemic and economic slowdown threatening the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today committed US$40 million, and launched an urgent appeal…
China’s political system and the coronavirus
by Branko Milanovic on 20th April 2020 @BrankoMilan Branko Milanovic explores how the pandemic has highlighted China’s international responsibility and how such global ‘externalities’ are to be rendered accountable.
71 Maldivians leave Dhaka: Armed Forces medical team sent
An aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force ( BAF) left Dhaka for Maldives on Monday with 71 Maldivians and a 10- member Armed Forces Medical Team for providing coronavirus treatment to infected Bangladeshi nationals in Maldives.
India reports 1,553 one-day virus cases as lockdown eased
India recorded its biggest single-day spike in coronavirus cases on Monday as the government eased one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to allow some manufacturing and agricultural activity to resume.
More than dozen people killed in Canada shooting rampage
A gunman in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has killed at least 16 people, including one police officer, during a 12-hour shooting rampage. The suspect was later shot dead by police.