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]
[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.
