Thursday, 6 August 2020

Trump In Virus-Infested Waters In TIME Magazine's "Election Plague" Animation

United States President Donald Trump is shown floating in coronavirus-infested deluge which is also engulfing the White House - the seat of power in the country - in an animation shared by the iconic TIME magazine on Twitter.
The animation ultimately ends up as the magazine's latest cover. The title of the cover story reads "The Election Plague", implying it will discuss Mr Trump's poll challenges triggered by the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

The animation has been retweeted hundreds of times.

TIME's new cover: How COVID-19 changed everything about the 2020 election 


The United States is the worst-hit country with 158,268 deaths from 4,824,175 cases. At least 1,577,851 people have been declared recovered.

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 708,236 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, news agency AFP reports, adding at least 18,843,580 cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories.

On Wednesday, 6,863 new deaths and 262,116 new cases were recorded worldwide. Based on latest reports, the countries with the most fresh deaths were Brazil with 1,437 new deaths, followed by United States with 1,262.

As cases of coronavirus started to come out in the United States, Mr Trump refused to announce lockdown, saying it will destroy the country's economy. He has also been attacking the democrats-ruled states, which have enforced lockdowns to arrest the growth of the virus.

Donald Trump's opponents allege the president was too late to respond to the coronavirus threat, leading to the worst outbreak of the disease in the world.

Mr Trump, however, maintains the country is doing well in tackling the pandemic.


In this year's US presidential polls in which Mr Trump is facing the democrats candidate Joe Biden, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to be one of the main talking points. 

Wednesday, 5 August 2020

"Deepest Condolences": UN Chief On "Horrific Explosions" In Beirut

The United Nations said it is "actively assisting" in the response to the horrific explosions that ripped through the port area of Beirut, as Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Lebanese people.
"The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of Lebanon, following the horrific explosions in Beirut," a statement from a UN spokesperson said.

Mr Guterres wishes a speedy recovery to the injured, including several United Nations personnel working in Lebanon.

"The United Nations remains committed to supporting Lebanon at this difficult time, and is actively assisting in the response to this incident," the statement added.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of the UNIFIL ships of the Maritime Task Force docked in the port was damaged, leaving some UNIFIL naval peacekeepers injured - some of them seriously.

UNIFIL said it was transporting the injured peacekeepers to the nearest hospitals for medical treatment and is currently assessing the situation, including the scale of the impact on UNIFIL personnel.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Del Col said, "We are with the people and the Government of Lebanon during this difficult time and stand ready to help and provide any assistance and support."

More than 100 people were dead and nearly 4,000 injured in the explosion, which sent shockwaves across the bustling city of Beirut, bursting out windows and shaking buildings.


Separately,?Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the President of the UN General Assembly, also extended his deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the explosion in Beirut and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.

Muhammad-Bande "would like to reiterate his solidarity with Lebanon during this time," said the Assembly President's Spokesperson.

Racism, Xenophobia: Joe Biden Campaign Focuses On Challenges Sikhs Face

  The Biden campaign has launched an initiative to reach out to the Sikh community in the US and vowed to address the unique challenges, inc...