Vietnamese govt's coronavirus safety video becomes viral Tik Tok challenge
A video by the Vietnamese government about preventive measures for coronavirus has become a Tik Tok challenge in the country with many users performing the hand-washing dance moves. The government's animated video borrows its tune from pop song "Jealous". The challenge was popularised by internet personality Qang Dang whose video on Tik Tok has received 1.9 million views, reports said.read more at The Financial Express
With 3.4% death rate, coronavirus more deadly than flu: WHO
World Health Organization has said that about 3.4% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have died, far above seasonal flu's fatality rate of under 1%, but the novel coronavirus can be contained. WHO chief said, "COVID-19 spreads less efficiently than flu, transmission does not appear to be driven by people who are not sick...there are not yet any vaccines or therapeutics."read more at Reuters
Please rescue us: 11 Indians stuck in coronavirus-hit Iran request govt
Eleven Indian engineers have requested the Indian government to rescue them from Iran, saying that "we are living in a scary situation", as the country reported over 2,300 coronavirus cases. In a video message, an Indian hailing from West Bengal said that the members have confined themselves at an apartment along with 10 others from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.read more at Hindustan Times
China approves use of Roche's arthritis drug for coronavirus patients
China will use Roche Holding's arthritis drug Actemra to treat some coronavirus patients in severe conditions, health authorities said on Wednesday. Tocilizumab, sold by the Swiss pharma, can be prescribed to coronavirus patients who show serious lung damage. There is no clinical trial evidence yet that the drug will be effective on coronavirus patients.read more at Reuters
Artist comes up with 'sound of coronavirus' based on DNA of the virus
Eric Drass, a UK-based artist, has released what he called the 'sound of COVID-19'. He has based his track on the DNA sequence of the coronavirus after the genome sequence was released by The National Center for Biotechnology Information of the NIH. He then converted the sequence into musical notes. He said that the entire track is over 2-hour long.Drunk man orders 189 chicken pieces in Domino's order worth ₹16,600
A 29-year-old drunk man in the UK accidentally ordered 189 chicken pieces after drinking for 12 hours. Lee Rumney was drinking with friends to celebrate his baby's birth when he placed an order worth over ₹16,600 with Domino's. The food that was delivered to his home amounted to 19 boxes which included at least 15 boxes with chicken pieces.read more at Times Now
Bloomberg, who spent over $500 mn on campaign, drops out of US Prez race
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who spent over $500 million on campaigning, dropped out of the US Presidential race and endorsed ex-Vice President Joe Biden to be the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee. Bloomberg's decision comes after he only won American Samoa in the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday while Biden won 9 out of 14 states voting on that day, reports said.US launches air strike against Taliban for 1st time since peace deal
The US has conducted a "defensive" air strike against Taliban fighters who were "actively attacking" an Afghan forces checkpoint, a military spokesperson said. The strike came hours after US President Donald Trump said he had a good chat with Taliban leader. This was the first US attack since the country signed a peace deal with the Taliban on February 29.read more at India.com
Syrian girl, whose video of laughing at bomb explosions went viral, escapes to Turkey
A Syrian girl, whose viral video of laughing every time a bomb dropped near her home in Syria, has recently escaped to Turkey with her family. The girl's father had taught her to laugh at explosions as part of a game to distract her from the bombings in Syria's Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold in the country.read more at The Guardian
Man steals Versace necklace from store using fishing rod in Australia
Australian Police are looking for a man who used a fishing rod to steal a Versace necklace from a store in Melbourne. The man chipped a hole in the store's window first without setting off the alarm and then removed the necklace from a mannequin, the police said. It took him three hours to commit the theft, they added.read more at Daily Mail
US reports 3 more coronavirus deaths, total cases rise to over 100
US' Washington state reported three more deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday while the total virus cases in the country rose to over 100. The state earlier reported six deaths from the virus and detected 27 cases in total. "This is a very fluid, fast-moving situation as we aggressively respond to this outbreak," Public Health Officer Dr Jeff Duchin said.read more at Deccan Herald
Zuckerberg details the ways Facebook is responding to coronavirus
Mark Zuckerberg has detailed the steps being taken by Facebook to respond to coronavirus and the viral misinformation about it. Any search related to the virus on the platform would direct users to the WHO or local health authority through an automatic pop-up, Zuckerberg mentioned. He added Facebook is giving WHO free ads for its coronavirus response needs.read more at TechCrunch
Saudi Arabia suspends Umrah pilgrimage for its citizens, residents
Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimages to the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina for its citizens and non-Saudi residents of the country over coronavirus fears, the state news agency said. The decision will be reviewed regularly and reversed when the situation changes, it added. The country recently suspended travel to China for both citizens and non-Saudi residents.read more at The New Indian Express
Fake coronavirus news being sent from abroad to spread panic: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said fake news reports about coronavirus were being sent to the country from abroad to "spread panic" among the people, adding that "nothing critical is happening" here. Putin urged the government to ensure that citizens received "timely, comprehensive and trustworthy information" about the situation in Russia. The country has reported three coronavirus cases.read more at Reuters
World Bank announces $12bn in immediate funds to tackle coronavirus
The World Bank has announced an initial package of $12 billion in "immediate support" to assist countries coping with health and economic impacts of coronavirus outbreak, as the global death toll crossed 3,000. The emergency package includes low-cost loans, grants and technical assistance. The organisation said it will prioritise the poorest countries and those at high risk with low capacity.read more at Reuters
Govt intends to set up coronavirus testing facility for Indians in Iran
If Iran lends support, India could set up a coronavirus testing facility for Indians in Iran so that they can be tested before being brought back to the country, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said. A scientist from Pune's National Institute of Virology has been sent to Iran to facilitate the testing. Currently, an estimated 1,200 Indians are in Iran.read more at The New Indian Express
Apple restricts employees from travelling to Italy, South Korea
Apple has restricted employee travel to Italy and South Korea, two of the worst coronavirus-hit countries. Employees will only be allowed to travel to these regions for business-critical reasons and after getting an approval from a company VP, Bloomberg reported. "There are many ways to continue to manage our ongoing meetings and activities through calls and video," Apple told staff.read more at Hindustan Times
OPEC delegates greet with their feet amid coronavirus outbreak
OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak were seen tapping their feet, during a meet, as an alternative form of greeting amid coronavirus outbreak. However, the two were also seen briefly shaking hands. A sign at the venue asked the delegates to avoid hugs, handshakes and wash their hands frequently to prevent the spread of coronavirus.read more at Reuters
Increase protective equipments' production by 40%: WHO to firms, govts
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a shortage of protective equipments to fight the spread of coronavirus and asked companies and governments to increase production by 40%. It estimates that health workers will need 89 million masks, 76 million gloves and 1.6 million pairs of goggles every month. The WHO further said that prices of surgical masks increased sixfold.Deliveries will be delayed due to coronavirus, AliExpress warns customers
Global e-commerce platform AliExpress has warned customers that its deliveries will be delayed due to coronavirus. "Some shipping and logistics are experiencing longer waiting times for processing orders," AliExpress said in a post. AliExpress' customers had complained that apart from the delay in delivery, their orders were getting automatically renewed instead of being cancelled and refunded.read more at Reuters
Ukraine PM Oleksiy Honcharuk resigns for 2nd time within 2 months
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation on Tuesday for the second time within two months. Honcharuk had earlier attempted to leave his role in January after leaked audio emerged of him seeming to call President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a "layman" in economics. Zelenskiy had then wanted to give Honcharuk a second chance.read more at Deutsche Welle
At least 24 killed by tornadoes in US' Tennessee
At least 24 people were killed in US' Tennessee state after tornadoes passed through its capital Nashville and its surrounding areas on Tuesday. State Governor William Lee said that the death toll is likely to rise as the search-and-rescue crews began to look for the missing people. US President Donald Trump will visit the affected areas on Friday.Biden wins 9 of 14 states in Democratic US presidential primary
Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden won 9 of 14 states in the Democratic Party presidential primary on Tuesday, which is also known as 'Super Tuesday'. However, his rival Bernie Sanders is likely to win four states, including California which awards 415 of the 1,991 delegates needed to win Democratic Party's nomination for presidential polls.read more at The New Indian Express
First EU official tests positive for coronavirus in Brussels
An EU official working in Brussels has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first case within the EU institutions. The European Defence Agency (EDA) staffer returned from Italy on February 23 and showed symptoms on February 29. The EDA has cancelled all meetings until March 13. Earlier, the European Parliament limited public access to its buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg.read more at Daily Mail
Turkish Police firing tear gas to help migrants cross border: Greece
Greece claimed that the Turkish Police were firing tear gas at Greek forces at the border to push them back and allow the migrants to enter Greece. However, a Turkish security official said that their police were responding with tear gas to Greek police firing bullets at the migrants. Greece denied the claim that it shot at migrants.read more at Reuters
54,000 prisoners temporarily freed in Iran to combat coronavirus spread
Iran announced on Tuesday that it will temporarily release more than 54,000 prisoners in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA reported. The inmates will be allowed out of prison after testing negative for COVID-19 and posting bail. "The health of the prisoners is very important for us." an official said.
read more at BloombergQuint
China censored coronavirus news in early stages of outbreak: Researchers
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab have said that China had censored news related to coronavirus in the early stages of the outbreak. Citizen Lab found over 500 blocked keywords and phrases and some factual information on WeChat and live-streaming platform YY. WeChat censored words including "pneumonia", "disease control and prevention", "virus" and "medical journal".
read more at Livemint
US charges Chinese nationals with laundering cryptocurrency for North Korea
The US justice department charged two Chinese nationals with laundering over $100 million in cryptocurrency on North Korea's behalf, filings revealed. The duo allegedly laundered stolen currency to "obscure transactions for the benefit of actors based in North Korea", a justice department official said. A related civil forfeiture complaint detailed over $250 million stolen by North Korean actors.
read more at Reuters
YouTube accused of being 'organ of radicalisation'
Yvette Cooper, a British Labour Party MP, said YouTube has "become an organ of radicalisation instead of taking responsibility". She said that when she set up an account to look for a far-right group named in a report, YouTube automatically suggested neo-Nazi videos to watch. "Look up one thing...and YouTube is ever willing to offer... far more extreme," she said.
read more at The Guardian
Very good conversation: Trump on talk with Taliban leader after peace deal
United States President Donald Trump said he had a very good conversation with a leader of the Taliban, a day after a partial truce agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government broke down. This was the first direct exchange between a US president and the insurgent leadership since the US military intervention in Afghanistan began in 2001.
read more at Reuters
8% of Iran parliament members infected with coronavirus
About 8% of the Iranian parliament's MPs have tested positive for the coronavirus, Iran's deputy speaker, Abdul Reza Misri said. Head of Iran's emergency medical services has also been infected and two senior Iranian officials have already died from the virus. With 77 deaths being reported, Iran has one of the highest numbers of deaths from coronavirus outside China.
read more at The Guardian
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