The Daily World News Report of the 27th of February 2020

Coronavirus Update

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 10.5% in a 6 day losing streak as the virus continues to weigh down the stock markets.[1] The Prime Minister of Japan has requested that all K-12 schools close until the spring holidays.[2] Qatar’s Emir ordered the evacuation of their citizens as well as Kuwait’s citizens from Iran Thursday.[3] Iran reports a death toll of the Coronavirus is 26. “The total number of infected people now [stand] at 245, including several senior officials.” More than 40% of them were detected within the past day.[4] San Francisco’s Mayor declares a state of emergency on Tuesday; although, no cases have been detected. “We need to step-up preparedness,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement.[5] The Coronavirus case count is up to 82,550 as the death tally is at least 2810. Approximately 33,252 people have recovered. "Italy has 528 cases, 14 deaths and 40 people have recovered; and South Korea has 1,766 cases, 13 deaths, and 22 people have recovered.”[6]

United States International Sanctions

On Tuesday, US introduced new sanctions to be imposed on foreign entities and individuals, “supporting Iran's missile program”. The countries, where the entities are found, are Russia, China, Turkey, and Iraq.[7]

Furthermore, “Sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea”, Ukraine were extended, “impos[ing] travel bans and asset freezes against individuals involved in the seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula.”[8]

Scotland Approves Period Bill

On Tuesday, all parties of the Scotland Parliament approved the first stage of a plan to make all period products free in the country. Period products funded by the government were distributed through “schools, colleges and universities in Scotland” previously. This wider scale bill, ‘making all period products completely free "for anyone who needs them,"’ addresses “period poverty”. “It can cost up to £8, or $10, for tampons and pads each month, and the expense can lead to some girls using tissues or socks instead, a student from St. Paul's High School in Glasgow told BBC News. ‘This means that some girls [fear] to come to school and don't want to leave the house at all,’ another student said.”[9]

Tunisia’s new government

Early on Thursday, Tunisia “after four months of arguing among rival parties” formed a new government under the newly elected President Kais Saied. Tunisia is credited for the origin of the Arab Spring[10]. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali faced violent protests, demanding his resignation, after 23 years of autocratic leadership. He promised to not run for another term of office on January 14, 2011.[11] My understanding from research is that this is the third united parliament established since Ben Ali’s presidency.

Landmines Terrorize Cambodia

Landmines terrorize the lives of Cambodians, claiming thousands. Approximately 20 million landmines remain from “a 500-metre-wide strip dubbed K5 that was laid in a fruitless attempt to forestall Khmer Rouge guerillas”, covering 800 kilometers, which is almost 500 miles. Many Non-governmental organizations work to remove the land mines. The possibility of land mine deployment was revived “in early February when US President Donald Trump cancelled a policy US military forces from employing anti-personnel landmines beyond the Korean peninsula.”[12]

India Immigration Law Protests

The death toll of the unrest due to the law, easing immigration process for non-Muslim people from neighboring Muslim nations, rose to 37. The unrest does not seem to be under control as I have or an article that I read written. 14 more people were injured today. The rate of violence and destruction has reduced significantly.[13]

Human Trafficking in Nigeria

Nigerian police perform a covert child trafficking bust operation, rescuing 4 expectant mothers along with 24 babies, at Woji in Port Harcourt. The facilities were dubbed “baby factories”, where the children were sold on the black market. Some women supposedly come to the illegal maternity home voluntarily while some cases “young women have allegedly been held against their will and raped”.[14]

Syria’s Civil War

The Turkish aid to the rebel group loses 22 soldiers as they fight for the “last opposition stronghold” in Idlib, Syria. Turkey reports “that Ankara had decided it would no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land and sea” as they “expressed extreme unwillingness to take in any more Syrians on top of the 3.6m refugees it already hosts.” I have sought to help one Syrian family in Turkey, who reached out to me; however, my best effort only reached less than 1 percent of the funds needed to migrate to the host country.[15] Nearly one million camp at the border of Turkey in Syrian in the winter.[16]

Follow up question from yesterday: “Did any of your readings say why Bob Iger stepped down?”

“It’s only abrupt in other people’s eyes because we haven’t been talking about it publicly,” Iger told the Times, adding that the Disney board had “identified Bob actually quite some time ago as a likely successor.” Bob Iger may be following the example of Tom Staggs, the previous CEO before Iger, who left the company less than a year after giving him an interim role. Bob will be an executive chairman of Disney for less than two years before leaving.[17]

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[1] Hajric, Vildana, and Katherine Greifeld. “Stocks Fall Most Since August 2011 on Virus Angst: Markets Wrap.” Bloomberg, 27 Feb. 2020, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-26/asia-stocks-point-to-cautious-start-on-virus-fears-markets-wrap.

[2] “Japanese PM Asks Schools Remain Closed amid Coronavirus Outbreak.” Al Arabiya, AFP, 27 Feb. 2020, english.alarabiya.net/en/coronavirus/2020/02/27/Japanese-PM-asks-schools-remain-closed-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html.

[3] Khalid, Tuqa. “Qatar Says to Evacuate Its Citizens and Kuwait’s from Iran Due to Coronavirus.” Al Arabiya English, 27 Feb. 2020, english.alarabiya.net/en/coronavirus/2020/02/27/Qatar-says-to-evacuate-its-citizens-and-Kuwait-s-from-Iran-due-to-coronavirus.html.

[4] Hafezi, Parisa. “Iran's Death Toll from Coronavirus Reaches 26: Health Ministry.” Edited by Gareth Jones, Reuters, 27 Feb. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-iran-toll-idUSKCN20L1E5.

[5] “San Francisco Declares Emergency over Coronavirus.” ABS-CBN News, 27 Feb. 2020, news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/27/20/san-francisco-declares-emergency-over-coronavirus.

[6] Lee, Jaimy. “COVID-19 Case Tally: 82,550 Cases, 2,810 Deaths .” Market Watch, MarketWatch, Inc, 27 Feb. 2020, www.marketwatch.com/story/covid-19-case-tally-82446-cases-2808-deaths-2020-02-27.

[7] “U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Russia, Other Countries Over Iran.” The Moscow Times, 26 Feb. 2020, www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/02/26/us-slaps-sanctions-on-russia-other-countries-over-iran-a69418.

[8] “U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Russia, Other Countries Over Iran.” The Moscow Times, 26 Feb. 2020, www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/02/26/us-slaps-sanctions-on-russia-other-countries-over-iran-a69418.

[9] O'Kane, Caitlin. “The Scottish Parliament Approved Plans to Make Period Products Free for All Women.” CBS News, 26 Feb. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/period-poverty-scottish-parliament-approved-plans-make-sanitary-products-free-for-all-women-u-s-could-follow/.

[10] “Tunisia Approves Government after Months of Deadlock.” The Daily Star, Associated Press, 27 Feb. 2020, www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2020/Feb-27/501850-tunisia-approves-government-after-months-of-deadlock.ashx.

[11] “Tunisia Ousts Its Leader.” CBS News, CBS Interactive Inc., Jan. 2011, www.cbsnews.com/pictures/tunisia-ousts-its-leader/.

[12] Peters, Ed. “Why Job of Clearing Cambodia’s Landmines Is Giving Locals the Chance to Improve Their Lives.” South China Morning Post, 27 Feb. 2020, www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3052284/why-job-clearing-cambodias-landmines-giving-locals-chance-improve-their.

[13] “Indian Capital Hit by Violence: All the Latest Updates.” Al Jazeera, 27 Feb. 2020, www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/indian-capital-hit-violence-latest-updates-200227072018202.html.

[14] “24 Babies, Pregnant Teens Freed from Nigeria 'Baby Factory'.” Yahoo!, AFP, 27 Feb. 2020, news.yahoo.com/24-babies-pregnant-teens-freed-nigeria-baby-factory-133622437.html.

[15] Hicken, Alex. “The Refugee Fundraiser Campaign Explained.” Alex Hicken, 26 Nov. 2019, alexnhicken.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-refugee-fundraiser-campaign.html.

[16] McKernan, Bethan. “Dozens of Turkish Soldiers Killed in Strike in Idlib in Syria, Reports Say.” The Guardian, Guardian News & Media Limited, 27 Feb. 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/27/dozens-of-turkish-soldiers-killed-in-strike-in-idlib-in-syria-reports-say.

[17] Adalian, Josef. “A Tale of Two Bobs: What Disney’s CEO Shake-up Means for Hollywood.” Vulture, Vox Media, Inc., 27 Feb. 2020, www.vulture.com/2020/02/why-did-bob-iger-resign-disney-ceo.html.