Sunday, Aug 2nd, 2020
ByteDance to divest U.S. TikTok operations TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has agreed to divest the app’s U.S. operations, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday. The report comes a day after President Trump said he would ban the popular app in the United States amid Washington’s concern over ByteDance’s data collection, which the Trump administration believes poses a national security threat. Under the proposed deal, Microsoft would take over U.S. operations. It’s unclear if Trump’s threat was little more than a negotiating tactic to force ByteDance into fully selling the app, rather than retaining a minority stake, as it had preferred. ByteDance’s apparent willingness to make that concession will test whether the president was bluffing. Source: Reuters
The Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates becomes operational following delays since 2017. It is the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab world. (BBC)
A demonstration against coronavirus restrictions attended by thousands of people in Berlin, Germany, is terminated by police over “non-respect of hygiene rules”. Police say they launched legal action against the organisers. (Al Jazeera)
Officials say at least 86 people have died in recent days due to consuming toxic illegally-made alcohol in Punjab, India. Police are carrying out raids in the state, confiscating supplies of the suspected alcohol and have made 25 arrests. (BBC)
Top Democrats, White House conclude ‘productive’ coronavirus relief talks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) resumed coronavirus relief negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Saturday morning. The four negotiators met for several hours and while the talks didn’t result in anything tangible, Schumer and Meadows both said separately that it was the most productive meeting yet. Congress failed to reach an agreement Friday for the next iteration of the CARES coronavirus relief bill, ending the week of negotiations with frustration on all sides. Discussions will continue Sunday with staff-only meetings, before Pelosi, Schumer, Mnuchin, and Meadows return to the table Monday. Source: Reuters
England pauses lockdown easing, French cases spike British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday it was time to “squeeze the brake pedal” on the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England after an increase in daily new cases for the first time since May. England’s chief medical officer, Prof. Chris Whitty, added that the country has “probably reached near the limit, or the limits, of what we can do in terms of opening up society.” Cases are also on the rise in other European countries, including France, which has seen more than 1,300 new infections per day for the last three days. At the beginning of July, the number of daily new cases in France had dropped to several hundred. It’s been suggested the recent spike is related to increased holiday travel. Source: The Guardian
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Saturday, August 1st, 2020
The United States government is expected to pay $2.1 billion to Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline to try to develop and deliver 100 million doses of their potential COVID-19 vaccine. (CNBC)
The World Health Organization reports a record increase in global COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with the total rising by more than 292,000. (Reuters)
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Mexico reaches 46,688, surpassing the United Kingdom. The death toll in the country is the third-highest in the world. (Reuters)
Tokyo registers another record of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began, with 463 new cases. Governor Yuriko Koike says the city may need to declare its own state of emergency if the virus continues to spread. (The Japan Times)
Japan reports another record of more than 1,500 cases in a single day. (Kyodo News)
India surpasses Italy in COVID-19 deaths, becoming the fifth-highest. (India.com)
The End