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World News
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Myanmar protests: Truck drivers join movement against military coup
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 12:30 PM IST
As a result, delivery of imports has slowed, with cargo containers trapped at ports and at least one international shipping line has been forced to halt new orders.
UNHCR praises Indian coast guard for helping Rohingya adrift in Andaman sea
AP, Dhaka
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 12:27 PM IST
UNHCR said the Indian coast guard responded to its request and deployed a search and rescue team.
Xi Jinping trumpets 'victory' in 1.6 trillion yuan campaign to end rural poverty
Posted by Ayshee Bhaduri | Reuters, Beijing
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 12:25 PM IST
- China defines extreme rural poverty as annual per capita income of less than 4,000 yuan ($620), or about $1.69 a day at current exchange rates.
Biden signs executive orders to address vulnerabilities in supply chains
PTI, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 11:21 AM IST
The order will help address the vulnerabilities in “our supply chains across additional critical sectors of our economy so that the American people are prepared to withstand any crisis and rely on ourselves.”
Out competing China will be key to national security: Biden's CIA nominee
PTI, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 11:03 AM IST
The two countries are currently engaged in a bitter confrontation over various issues, including trade, the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the communist giant’s aggressive military moves in the disputed South China Sea and human rights.
Xi Jinping puts personal stamp on China’s fight against poverty
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 10:51 AM IST
Xi handed out awards to individuals involved in the campaign Thursday and was expected to give a speech touting China’s progress in its fight to end poverty.
Facebook bans all Myanmar military-linked accounts and ads
AP, Yangon
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 10:49 AM IST
Facebook already has banned several military-linked accounts since the coup, including army-controlled Myawaddy TV.
Huawei, controversial in the West, is going strong in the Gulf
AFP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 10:06 AM IST
Arab Gulf countries strategic partners of Washington that are seeking to diversify their economies are investing heavily in the sector as their appetite for technology grows.
In boost for Covid-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world
Reuters, Jerusalem
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 09:46 AM IST
The study of about 1.2 million people also showed a single shot was 57% effective in protecting against symptomatic infections after two weeks.
Military begins delivering vaccines in Texas, New York
AP, Los Angeles
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 09:36 AM IST
The Biden administration has said that delivering the vaccine to Americans is a top priority. The Pentagon is ramping up the deployment of what federal authorities say could be up to 100 vaccination teams around the country.
Australia-Facebook tussle: Tech giant to pay $1bn over 3 yrs to news companies
PTI, Menlo Park, San Francisco
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 09:18 AM IST
The social giant, which has been tussling with Australia over a law that would make social platforms pay news organisations, said it has invested $600 million since 2018 in news.
Biden to put Tanden in another post should her nomination fail
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 08:43 AM IST
Klain said the White House is “fighting our guts out to get her confirmed” and hoping one Republican would offer support after West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin said he would vote against her.
Pak caught in China's debt-trap diplomacy, seeks relief from 'iron ally': Report
ANI, Islamabad
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 08:41 AM IST
Pakistani officials are also reportedly asking their Chinese counterparts to decelerate agreed plans to build even more power plants that would add to the overcapacity problem.
Biden rescinds Trump visa ban, bringing relief to many green card applicants
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 08:32 AM IST
Former President Donald Trump issued the ban last year, saying it was needed to protect US workers amid high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Myanmar students, doctors plan more protests against military rule
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:46 AM IST
Malaysia is home to more than 154,000 asylum-seekers from Myanmar and several Malaysian lawmakers and rights groups on Wednesday called on the government to explain its deportation.
Pakistan awaits FATF ruling on terror
By HT Correspondent, New Delhi
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:43 AM IST
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will conclude its three-day virtual plenary meeting on Thursday, following several rounds of meetings of its working groups since February 11.
Australian MPs to okay changes to new pay-for-news law
By HT Correspondent, Canberra
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:39 AM IST
The government introduced amendments to the so-called Media Bargaining Code after Facebook last week escalated a dispute over the new laws by blocking Australian users from sharing and viewing news content on its popular social media platform.
World’s first doses of Covax jabs rolled out
By HT Correspondent, Accra/geneva
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:35 AM IST
Almost a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) had first described the coronavirus as a global pandemic, a flight carrying 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India landed in Ghana’s capital Accra.
J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine closes in on FDA’s nod
By Yashwant Raj, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:33 AM IST
Johnson & Johnson's (J&J’s) one-shot vaccine could join Pfizer and Moderna’s shots as early as this week in the battle against a pandemic that has killed more than half a million people in the United States, a grim milestone crossed earlier this week.
UK business lobby concerned over negative outlook of consumer services firms
Reuters, London
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:00 AM IST
CBI said its measure of sentiment among business and professional services firms leapt to +23% in 3 months to February from -21% in the previous 3 months, strongest rise since 2015.
Fencing, tightened security at Capitol staying in place for now
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 06:45 AM IST
The Capitol has been closed to the public since last spring because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the Jan. 6 riot, security was tightened significantly.
FAA met to discuss more frequent engine inspections days before Denver incident
ANI, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 06:43 AM IST
The Federal Aviation Administration review was prompted after a December failure of a PW4000 series engine on another Boeing 777-200 in Japan.
Texas power companies face liquidity crisis as bills mount, board leaders resign
Bloomberg
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 06:18 AM IST
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is working to manage ongoing financial stress in the power market as several billions of dollars in invoices are still outstanding from previous event.
Australia passes landmark law requiring Google, Facebook to pay for news
Reuters, Sydney
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:59 AM IST
The new code makes Australia the first country where a government arbitrator will set the rates tech giants have to pay if negotiations with media companies fail.
Czech Republic bans travel to South Africa, Brazil due to Covid-19 variants
Reuters, Prague
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 06:06 AM IST
The health ministry said the travel ban would be in effect from Feb. 26 to April 11, with some exceptions. It includes countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and others.
Biden's trade nominee Katherine Tai calls China 'both a rival and a partner'
Bloomberg
UPDATED ON FEB 25, 2021 05:56 AM IST
Katherine Tai is pledging to work with allies to take on China while also embarking on a 'pragmatic' approach to the Asian nation.
Republicans introduce resolution opposing any move to lift sanctions on Iran
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 05:51 AM IST
The resolution, introduced by Senator Tom Cotton and more than 40 other Republicans, underscores the resistance the Biden administration will face in trying to get back into the 2015 nuclear accord.
Heavy trading in GameStop leads to hour-long outage for Reddit
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 05:36 AM IST
Reddit, now more famous for its day-trading forum where individual traders recently triggered a rally in many shorted stocks, has faced several outages in recent months.
Amid surge, US tries to expedite release of migrant children
AP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 03:00 AM IST
US Health and Human Services on Wednesday authorized operators of long-term facilities to pay for some of the children’s flights and transportation to the homes of their sponsors.
Germany urges Iran to accept diplomacy in nuclear dispute
AP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 12:12 AM IST
Iran this week effectively set a deadline to lift those sanctions within three months, after which it said it would erase surveillance footage of its nuclear facilities
