Monthly Archives: February 2020

Uighur mother makes plea to join Australian husband

“I want to leave and be with my husband,” read the handwritten sign, held up to the camera and posted on Twitter in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Its author – Nadila Wumaier, a member of China’s Uighur Muslim minority – is reportedly under house arrest in China’s western Xinjiang region with her two-year-old son. She wanted her message… Read more »

Japanese get creative in face of coronavirus crisis mask shortages

TOKYO Desperate to protect themselves against the coronavirus that is sweeping parts of the planet, but unable to buy face masks due to shortages, people in Japan are going to unusual lengths with DIY solutions. While fearful Chinese people are forced into some extreme, if strange, measures such as using fruit skins, plastic bottles, sanitary pads, and even bras as… Read more »

China crossing into Taiwan airspace was ‘completely inappropriate,’ says State Department official

“Absolutely it concerns us” said R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary for political-military affairs at the U.S. Department of State. “It was completely inappropriate of China to take such an aggressive act,” Cooper added. On Monday, Chinese jets crossed an unofficial middle line in the Taiwan Strait, just a day after Chinese fighters and bombers flew around the island. China’s People’s… Read more »

2020 Chinese Grand Prix Postponed due to the Coronavirus

The 2020 Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Formula One announced on Wednesday. The decision to cancel the race weekend in Shanghai, which was scheduled for April 17-19, was taken jointly by F1 and the sports governing body, the FIA, after the Juss Sports Group — the Chinese Grand Prix promoter — officially requested… Read more »

Trump repeats theory that coronavirus will be eliminated by seasonal change, but scientists aren’t sure

President Trump on Friday repeated the theory that the novel coronavirus will die out as temperatures rise in the spring, but scientists insist it’s just too soon to say for sure.  Infectious disease experts studying the virus say it may have a seasonal variation, or it may not. Several tell CNN it’s too early to tell, and nobody knows enough… Read more »

Coronavirus Fears Lead to Closed-Door Soccer Game in Italy

A soccer match in one of Europe’s biggest tournaments is to be played behind closed doors on Thursday as the authorities in Italy continue to restrict public gatherings amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy. The decision to play the game — the second leg of a Europa League knockout match between Internazionale… Read more »

New Zealand moves to ban vaping ads, sales to minors

WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – New Zealand’s government said on Sunday (Feb 23) it will introduce laws banning all advertisements of e-cigarettes and the sale of such products to people under 18 in a move to regulate a market that has been under pressure globally. A string of vaping-related deaths and illnesses tied to e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapour, often… Read more »

Trump Administration Considers Punishing Chinese News Organizations

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering punishing Chinese journalists and state-run news organizations — as well as Chinese intelligence agencies — because of China’s decision to expel three Wall Street Journal reporters, American officials said on Monday. Those actions could be partly aimed at limiting Chinese intelligence collection efforts in the United States by expelling journalists who have contact… Read more »

New Delhi Streets Turn Into Battleground Between Hindus and Muslims

NEW DELHI — In one part of New Delhi, President Trump was sightseeing and talking about his warming relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In another, a neighborhood was ripping apart in flames, along religious lines. A mob of Hindu men, their foreheads marked by a saffron stripe, angrily patrolled the streets carrying iron bars, clubs and a bright blue… Read more »

Trump Hails ‘Special’ Ties With Modi, but Complains of Tariffs

NEW DELHI — President Trump said on Tuesday that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India had made progress toward what he hopes will be a landmark trade agreement between the two economic giants. But there was no breakthrough to announce after formal talks on the second and final day of the president’s visit, as Mr. Trump complained about… Read more »