15 NEWS SUMMARY (ASSIGNMENT 4)

By Naylii Sophea

1. Indonesia starts cloud seeding to keep forest fires at bay (28 May 2020)
Indonesia has started cloud seeding to induce rain in order to curb down the haze problem. Authorities deployed tens of thousands of personnel and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the fires and for the past two weeks. According to Tri Handoko Seto the initial focus would be on swampy, carbon-rich peatlands which become highly flammable when they are drained of water to grow crops. Last year’s fires sent a toxic haze across Southeast Asia that forced school closures and sparked fresh concerns about carbon emissions from the blazes aggravating global warming.

2. Virus puts Hong Kong’s ‘McRefugees’ back on streets (29 May 2020)
McRefugee is one of the smallest communities in Hong Kong. They are the ones who make the fast-food chain as a place for them to sleep. All this time, McDonald’s employees in the city have let the community sleep in their restaurants peacefully, but since the virus that hit the world, they don’t have any choice but to be back on the streets. According to one of  McRefugee's known as Leung Pin-Kuen she received news on Tuesday and was saddened by it and like many other places that deal with the Covid-19 outbreak, the poor are the most unprepared to deal with this.

3. 12MP presentation delayed? (30 May 2020)
The presentation of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) which is due to be tabled on August 6 will be postponed to January next year. According to Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali, the postponement decision was made based on several justifications, namely the formation of a new cabinet and the re-establishment and restructuring of the ministry in March 2020, the need to take into account the proposed solution in the post-COVID-19 recovery plan. Estimation of the country's economic position would take over the next five years, as well as the planning of the 12th Plan.

4. 'Sepet' ditayangkan di YouTube secara percuma minggu ini (31 May 2020)
The iconic movie that is close to the hearts of people "Sepet" by the late Yasmin Ahmad is now available for free on YouTube for a week starting May 30. According to the owner of the 'Great Little Stories' channel who uploaded the film, he thanked the film producer Mazlan Abdul Latiff 'Odeng' for his trust. Fans will also have the opportunity to communicate with all the crew and cast of the movie thru the comment sections. Relevant questions will be answered by the cast and crew production.

5. Sri Lanka to reopen some tourism in August with restrictions: Official (1 June 2020)
Sri Lanka plans to reopen its tourism sector on Aug. 1 by allowing only small groups of visitors, to begin with, a tourism official said on Sunday. According to Kimali Fernando, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau denied a report in the local Sunday Times that said the sector would re-open in mid-June. A limited number of small groups from around the world would be allowed to visit from August and stay in approved five-star hotels that have put strict safety measures in place, Fernando told Reuters.

6. UK study finds Black and Asian people more likely to die from Covid-19 (2 June 2020)
Black and Asian people in England are up to 50% more likely to die after being infected with Covid-19, an official study said on Tuesday, reinforcing previous reports which indicated ethnic minority groups were more at risk from the virus. The report by Public Health England (PHE) to examine disparities in how the disease affected people, showed there was a significant disproportionate effect on ethnic minorities while confirming death tolls among the elderly were far higher. The report comes as a United Nations human rights official highlighted the “devastating impact” of the disease on those communities in Britain and other countries.

7. UK PM condemns George Floyd’s killing, calls for ‘lawful’ protests (3 June 2020)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday condemned the killing of George Floyd by police in the United States but declined to say whether he had spoken about the issue with key ally Donald Trump. Floyd, an unarmed African-American, died last week after a police officer in the US city Minneapolis knelt on his neck, an incident captured on video by a witness. The officer concerned has been charged with third-degree murder. The killing has prompted waves of angry and sometimes violent protests in cities across the country and around the world.

8. German cops identify ‘murder’ suspect in girl’s 2007 disappearance (4 June 2020)
Police revealed Wednesday they have identified a new suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in 2007, saying the 43-year-old German man with a history of child sex abuse may have killed her. The suspect, who was not named, is serving a “long prison sentence” for an unrelated matter, said Germany’s federal criminal agency. He has previous convictions over child sexual abuse. On May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, “Maddie” disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve village in Portugal as her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant. Despite a wide range of suspects and theories about what happened, no one has ever been convicted over her disappearance.

9. Coty in talks to collaborate with Kim Kardashian for a cosmetics line (5 June 2020)
Coty Inc is in talks with reality TV star Kim Kardashian West over a potential collaboration for a beauty line, the cosmetics maker disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The company already has a majority stake in West's half-sister, Kylie Jenner's makeup and skincare line, which it bought last year for $600 million. The holding recently came under the scanner after Forbes magazine alleged that Jenner had been overplaying the value of her cosmetics brand. Coty's new chief executive officer said on Monday the allegations came as a "mystery" to him.

10. COVID-19: Difficult to ascertain the cause of death - Dr. Noor Hisham (6 June 2020)
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has stated that it was difficult to ascertain the cause of death, whether due to COVID-19 or complications of the virus. Health director-general Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry was currently reviewing the matter before updating the patient's death data. According to Dr. Noor Hisham, they still have a hard time finding the cause of death of the patient, but if the person were a Covid-19 victim but he committed suicide, then the cases will separate into two cases.

11. Pompeo offers US help in cleaning massive Russian oil spill (7 June 2020)
The United States offered to help Russia clean up a vast fuel spill that has fouled an Arctic river in northern Siberia. On May 29, a diesel-fuel tank at a power plant belonging to the giant Norilsk Nickel mining group collapsed near the Siberian industrial city of Norilsk, sending some 15,000 tons of diesel into a nearby waterway and pouring an additional 6,000 tons onto surrounding land. President Vladimir Putin declared an emergency and said he expects the company to pay for the clean-up. Russian officials said that the spill was probably caused when long-frozen permafrost under the fuel tank.

12. The Philippines cracks down on Facebook accounts after anti-terror law protest (8 June 2020)
The Philippines is investigating the proliferation of fake Facebook accounts using the identities of students, journalists, and government officials, which appeared after an anti-terror law protest. The University of the Philippines first identified the accounts over the weekend following the protest on its campus on Thursday. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the cybercrime office and the National Bureau of Investigation to get to the bottom of this huge anomaly. A Facebook Inc spokesperson said the US firm was investigating reports of suspicious activity and would act on accounts violating its policies.

13. Menara Eiffel kembali dibuka kepada pengunjung bermula 25 Jun (9 June 2020)
Paris's most famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower, will reopen to visitors starting June 25th. Through its official website, Eiffel Tower management has announced that they will take some precautionary measures including the use of face masks, limiting the number of visitors at a time, and daily cleaning and disinfection. Management will also ensure that there is no congestion of visitors going up and down by separating them along the stairs to the east and west. Visitors are advised to purchase tickets online to facilitate the process, as well as help avoid congestion at the counter.

14. Muhyiddin: Perdana Menteri yang sangat kurang berpolitik (10 June 2020)
During his 100 days of administration as the eighth Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was seen as less political and rarely made political statements. Instead, he devoted more effort and time to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the country's economic challenges during that time. His actions have been less political since he was appointed to lead the country's administration from March 1 to the 100th day on Tuesday, allegedly contributing to the country's stability despite several political dramas during the period.

15. Beijing blasts Harvard’s parking lot study, calls it virus ‘disinformation’ (11 June 2020)
Beijing on Thursday criticized a preliminary study by US researchers suggesting the coronavirus may have been circulating in China since August 2019, calling it proof of a disinformation campaign. The virus first emerged late last year in the central city of Wuhan, but the US has repeatedly accused China of a lack of transparency about the outbreak and its origins. The team led by Elaine Nsoesie at Boston University said they found a steep increase in volume starting in August 2019 at Wuhan hospital parking lots, culminating with a peak in December 2019.