France Mourns Victims Of Islamic Church Attack, Two Detained

French law enforcement officials say they have detained a second suspect linked to Thursday’s Islamic terror attack that killed three people in a church. The detentions came as the southern French city of Nice was mourning the victims of the murders in its Notre-Dame basilica.

New poll shows global lack of confidence in government handling of COVID-19

A new survey has shown that citizens around the world are losing confidence in their governments over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Yahoo News reports. Publishing their report on Saturday, Kekst CNC communications consultancy said: “In most countries this month, support for national governments is falling.” The survey came as officials reported over 280,000 daily new cases worldwide on both Thursday and Friday.

India Tests New COVID-19 Vaccine on Humans in July

Bharat Biotech is now approved for human trials, and slated to start human vaccine testing for COVID-19 in July. It will be India’s first domestic pharmaceutical candidate to receive the go-ahead from the government’s drug regulator as cases are sky-rocketing in the 1.3 billion population.

IMF Downgrades Global Economic Forecast

As governments around the world battle the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a further grim forecast, predicting a 4.9% contraction in global GDP (gross domestic product) for 2020, a lower figure than the 3% forecast in April, CNBC reports. The IMF also downgraded its GDP prediction for 2021, lowering it to 5.4% from the 5.8% forecast in April.

Forecasters says this Year’s Hurricane Season may be Among the Worst

Weather forecasters are concerned this year’s hurricane season may be among the worst ever as the first-named tropical storm of 2020 brushed past North Carolina yesterday. Forecasters are seeing climate conditions similar to those of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina killed 1,800 people in New Orleans, Bloomberg Green reported.

Journalists Suffer Arrests and Attacks In Pandemic

A survey by the world’s largest journalism group shows three in every four journalists have faced official restrictions, obstruction or intimidation in reporting on the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also noticed that most staff and freelance journalists have “suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, canceled commissions, or worsening working conditions.”

Mexico and the EU agree to new free-trade deal

The EU and Mexico agreed to a new free-trade deal Tuesday after four years of negotiations, the Financial Times reported. The deal provides that almost all trade between Mexico and the EU bloc will be duty-free.

Hungary Defends “Orwellian Law” Amid Criticism

Hungary has condemned global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for saying that an ‘Orwellian law’ has imposed an ‘information police state’ in the country. RSF urged two United Nations rapporteurs to condemn the governments of Hungary and dozens of other nations for ‘violating the right to information’ about the coronavirus pandemic.

Dutch Daily: ‘World Searching For Leader Amid Coronacrisis’

With roughly half the world in lockdown and many politicians weak or ill, the largest Dutch daily concludes in a headline: “World searching for LEADER.” De Telegraaf (The Telegraph) also expresses that “Nobody takes the lead in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.” Its commentator, Frank van Vliet, complained: “While the world is on fire, international politicians are running in one direction to put out their fire. No leader has taken the lead, and solidarity is lacking. They did not read author Alexander Dumas’ Three Musketeers because “one for all and all for one” has been replaced by “own people first.”

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