Author: WTX News

A homemade bomb exploded at a hospital in Hong Kong on Monday morning, causing the temporary evacuation of patients but so far police have confirmed that there were no injuries. The incident came after a group of protesters set alight the lobby of a newly built residential building in Hong Kong that authorities had planned to use as a quarantine facility, as fears grow over a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China. “Staff at the accident and emergency department heard loud bangs in a public toilet, and found that there was an explosion in one of the compartments,” the spokesman said.…

Kobe killed in s Helicopter crash

Brief. BrIEf.Me In today’s briefing update, the Sunday papers focus on the government’s plans to rescue Britons trapped by the deadly coronavirus and the fury over HS2 costs. In our special feature, we take a look at the coronavirus. And ask – how worried should we be? Why haven’t WHO sounded the alarm? What will be the global economic consequences? And look at the core flaws of the Chinese government. …………………………………………………….Angry Trump cast cloud on Boris’s big dayThe Sunday Times reports Boris Johnson’s Brexit day celebrations could be overshadowed by a “diplomatic war” with US President Donald Trump over the PM’s plans…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: the US has imposed new visa rules to prevent ‘birth tourism’ – where a pregnant woman gives birth in the US so their children have US citizenship.  A top UN court has ordered Myanmar to prevent genocide against the country’s Rohingya minority and to stop destroying evidence. The landmark ruling came after a tiny African nation bought justice to the international stage.  In the UK, 14 people have been tested for the deadly coronavirus. But no further details on case locations were given. The virus has now spread…

Prince Charles met the climate change activist Greta Thunberg and said Swede was “remarkable” after meeting her at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Thunberg used her speech in Switzerland to say world leaders’ alleged inaction was fuel to the flames of climate change. No political ideology or economic structure has been able to tackle the climate and environmental emergency and create a cohesive and sustainable world,” she said before switching to a deeply sarcastic tone. “Because that world, in case you haven’t, noticed is currently on fire.” The pair are on the same page when it comes to the…

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that United States President Donald Trump had assured the Pakistani delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would soon visit Pakistan. “US President Donald Trump has assured us that he will soon visit Pakistan,” (the current impeachment hearings may hinder this) the foreign minister said in a statement issued hours after a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and the US President in Davos. Davos is once again hosting world leaders and climate change and ongoing Iran and US conflict have taken centre stage. But Davos also gives opportunities…

A shooting in Seattle has claimed the life of one person and seriously wounded seven others – including a child.  The gunman opened fire in a busy area of the US city and then fled the scene. Police are currently searching for the shooter and say his motive remains unclear.  Footage from the scene showed officers tending to casualties on the pavement near Third Avenue and Pine Street.  The shooting happened just after 17:00 on Wednesday (1:00 Thursday) police added.  https://twitter.com/JessSchreindl/status/1220154512284872705 One of the victims, a woman, died at the scene confirmed the city’s fire department.  Another woman was in…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: The first day of President Trump’s impeachment trial kicked off with the Democrats rolling out their case against the US President.   WHO has praised China’s rapid response to quarantine the deadly virus that has so far killed 17 people. Public transport in and out of the central city Wuhan – the epicentre of the virus- has been stopped.  In Australia, a waterbombing plane that was tackling the Australian bushfires near Sydney may have crashed. A number of helicopters are in the area carrying out a search.  In the…

Authorities in Bangladesh are still waiting for permission from UN inspectors to start the controversial relocation of 100,000 Rohingya refugees to a newly built $275 million island camp.  No relocation date has been given just yet, as, despite the tiny island being ready for families to move onto, UN technical experts still need to carry out health and safety checks.  “Although everything is ready on the ground, we are yet to fix a date to begin the relocation process,” Shah Kamal, senior secretary of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, told Arab News.  A UN visit to the…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: Lebanon has formed a new government after months of mass protests and financial crisis. But the new government is unlikely to satisfy the demonstrators.  KFC Australia’s newest advert has caused an online backlash and has been labelled as ‘sexist’, but one publication asks if it was all just a clever PR stunt? In Baghdad, the latest clash between protesters and security forces has claimed one life and wounded dozens more after Iraqi forces fired live rounds and tear gas.  DAVOS 2020, President Trump’s keynote speech was not what…

A senior leader of India’s government has said the BJP will deport 10 million Muslims. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) announced that the government of India is working full throttle in implementing and executing the nationwide National Register of India and announced that the government will send back at least 10 million Bangladeshi Muslims living in the West Bengal state illegally. They have been classified as illegal because they have failed to provide accurately held identity documents, despite having lived in the country for generations. Such are the strict guidelines of the National Register defined by the Citizenship Amendment…

China: Top officials have warned lower-level officials not to cover up the spread of a new coronavirus that has now infected nearly 300 people.  The warning came as state media confirmed six people have now died from the virus, which causes a type of pneumonia. And it has been confirmed the virus can pass from person to person.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) will consider declaring an international public health emergency – as it did with swine flu and Ebola. If this declaration is made it will be seen as an urgent call for a coordinated international response.  So far…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: The Republicans plans for a quick impeachment trial for President Donald Trump has drawn out anger. Davos 2020 will see Climate Change take centre stage – President Trump is to give the first keynote speech at the meeting. Climate activist Greta Thunberg will also attend a meeting at the forum.  In the US, a pro-Second Amendment rally – a rally against new anti-gun measures in Virginia was not ‘extremist’ as the media and Hollywood would have you believe.  In Baghdad, anti-government protests have left 3 dead after clashes…

Three men have died in a stabbing in east London.  Police were called at about 19:40 GMT on Sunday to reports of a disturbance in Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, Ilford.  Three men in their 20s or 30s were found by emergency services with apparent stab wounds, the Met Police have said. The three men were pronounced dead at the scene. And no arrests have been made yet, the Met added.  Police are in the process of formally identifying the victims and informing the next of kin.  Ch Supt Steve Clayman said: “While inquiries into this tragic incident are at…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: In Bangladesh, a 10-year-old’s communication app is creating a big buzz. Since Saturday 10,500 people have already downloaded the app.  Prince Harry has broken his silence since it was announced him and Meghan are to lose their HRH titles and step down from all royal duties. A trove of documents recently published show how Africa’s richest woman stole her fortune from her country. In China, a mysterious virus has spread beyond the city it was first reported in. Over the weekend 139 new cases were reported. One person…

Brief. BrIEf.Me In today’s briefing update, the Sunday papers focus on the recent royal news – a deal has been reached for Meghan and Harry. They will stop all royal duties and give up their HRH titles.  In our special feature, we take a look at the Harvey Weinstein trial – ‘Bias, big-data and likes’  ……………………………………………………. Freedom at a price “Freedom… at a price” says the Sunday Express as news Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH titles and will not receive public funds. They will now be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess…

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise to 2.9 per cent in 2020. According to the World Bank on Tuesday in its January 2020 Global Economic Prospect report. The bank cited improved investor confidence in some large economies, easing of energy hurdles, a rise in oil production, which led to a recovery in oil exporters, as indicators. It also mentioned robust growth among agricultural commodity exporters within the region. https://twitter.com/WorldBankAfrica/status/1217861870817808387 This is a weaker forecast than previously expected. And it reflects a softer demand from key trading partners, lower commodity prices and adverse domestic developments in several countries. In…

New York State’s financial regulator has proposed a new plan that would allow licensed virtual currency firms that have already received approval for digital coin listings to introduce new coins without additional permission. The announcement was made earlier this week on Wednesday and The plan would impose certain conditions on New York- licensed virtual currency firms that want to offer new coins without the regulator’s preapproval. New crypto framework The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is asking for the public’s input about the plan, which the regulator said stems from a review of its current virtual currency…

WeWork’s leasing activity plunged 93% in the fourth quarter after a failed IPO attempt. Total space leased dropped to 184,022 square feet from an average of 2.54 million square feet over the previous four quarters. The company signed only four new leases covering 184,022 square feet of space in the last three months of 2019, marking a 93% drop from an average of 2.54 million square feet over the previous four quarters. Newly leased space in the flexible office leasing market plummeted 75% in the fourth quarter to just under 1 million square feet from 3.95 million in the prior…

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said President Donald Trump is a “clown” who only pretends to support the Iranian people, referring to the US President’s comical twitter messages in Farsi, and will “push a poisonous dagger” into their backs, in his Friday sermon. https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1216503368715309057 In his first sermon in eight years the Supreme leader responded to the recent missile attack on U.S. troops in Iraq led to “American humiliation,” and said “They stealthily and cowardly assassinated General Soleimani in a terrorist fashion. This resulted in a disgrace for America.” The Ayatollah was addressing huge crowds that had gathered in…

Wolf Cukier, 17, made quite the impression during the third day of his NASA internship.  The teen was helping out at the space agency in the United States and was checking images from its super-strength satellite when he noticed something strange.  It was a new planet, 1,300 light-years away from Earth, NASA has confirmed. Wolf is now back at high school in New York but took some time to chat to Radio 1 about his discovery.  The teen explained he got the two-month placement with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre last summer. He was given the job of examining…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: The Australian Tourism board has called on the government to lure visitors back after bushfires cost tourism A$1 billion.  In the US, despite repeatedly saying no there was no US causalities during last week’s attack on an Iraq base housing US troops – the US now says 11 troops were hurt.  ‘No Arabs Please’ said a job rejection email at a prestigious architect firm in Germany. A screenshot of the email has gone viral and ignited outrage online.  Christopher Tolkien, the son of “Lord of the Rings “…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: TV cameras will soon be allowed into Crown Court for serious high-profile criminal cases. But only the Judges comments during sentencing will be filmed, not the trial itself. Popular site Reddit went down in parts of the United States and Europe, many users took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. Thousands of problems were registered within just a couple of hours. In France, a former Catholic priest who is on trial for sexually abusing children has blamed the Church for failing to help him. The former priest said…

Extreme weather has claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Pakistan-administred Kashmir and neighbouring Afghanistan, as heavy snowfall triggers avalanches.  55 people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and 15 people in Afghanistan have died, officials said on Tuesday.  The latest deaths raise the two countries’ overall death toll from the severe weather to 126 since Sunday. From the snowy Alps, this may not seem very extreme. However, both Pakistan and Afghanistan are not prepared for such cold or extreme weather, so the slightest increase in extremity severely affects the region.  https://twitter.com/PakistanVisit1/status/1217108523970187265 The Himalayan region of Kashmir was the worst-affected area,…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: Israeli jets strike Syria – Syrian military has said Israeli jets have struck airbases in Homs. They say their air defence intercepted several missiles.  A ‘staggering number’ of human rights activists were killed last year in Colombia according to the UN.  In the UK, the government has struck a deal to save regional airline Flybe. The Democrats have released new documents on the eve of President Trump’s impeachment trial. In Pakistan, extreme weather has claimed the lives of at least 73 people – ten people are still missing. …