Month: January 2021

(Xinhua)08:48, August 06, 2020

Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Wednesday that the government is considering extending more emergency economic aid to the nations poorest citizens.

Brazil will face another one or two more months of economic difficulties as a result of the impact caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, said Guedes.

We will examine, together with the Congress, the reformulation of emergency aid along with the creation of the Renta Brasil program, the minister said.

According to the Brazilian government, so far, more than 65 million people have received emergency government aid.

The government in April approved an initiative to offer monthly financial aid amounting to 600 reals (about 113 U.S. dollars) to low-income informal workers and single mothers for a period of three months.

The government extended the program for another two months on July 1, but due to the positive impact the program has had, the government is considering continuing it until the end of the year, but lowering the amount disbursed.

(Xinhua)08:53, August 06, 2020

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 4.8 million on Wednesday, reaching 4,802,275 as of 3:34 p.m. local time (1934 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the national death toll from the disease rose to 157,551, according to the CSSE.

The hardest-hit state California recorded 527,074 cases, followed by Florida with 502,739 cases, Texas 466,032 cases and New York 418,225 cases, the tally showed.

States with over 180,000 cases also include Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and Arizona, the CSSE data showed.

(Xinhua)08:54, August 06, 2020

The United Nations, which has more than 100 people injured in the devastating Beirut explosion, is assessing damage and planning alternative aid operations, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

Among the injured were about 22 members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), including those from the Maritime Task Force of the mission, who were in the port when the blast occurred Tuesday, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A ship of the Maritime Task Force docked in the port was damaged, leaving some UNIFIL naval peacekeepers injured, some of them seriously, he said.

We expect that the damage of the port will significantly exacerbate the economic and food security situation in Lebanon, which imports about 80 to 85 percent of its food, Haq said. This is a place thats used both for goods for Lebanon but also for some of our activities in Syria.

Well need to assess how that damage affects our deliveries and how we can redirect, in the short term, more of our activities through the airport rather than through the seaport, the spokesman said. Obviously, the loss of the port will affect our activities.

The United Nations is working closely with the Lebanese government to support all ongoing response efforts, particularly in the delivery of emergency medical assistance, said Haq. Support for hospitals and trauma response capacity is a top priority.

The World Health Organization is working with Lebanons Ministry of Health to assess hospital facilities in Beirut, their functionality and needs for additional support, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specialists are being dispatched to Beirut to assist in the emergency response, both from the United Nations and several countries, Haq said. Experts also are on the way to support urban search and rescue operations.

Were heartened to see the declarations of support from different governments around the world, and we hope that all of the governments and all of us can stand beside the Lebanese people, said Haq. We need to remember that the people of Lebanon have been extremely generous and extremely helpful for many years.

Lebanon has taken in tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, and there has been a long-time Palestine refugee population in Lebanon, he said. These are people who have given a lot of support to others, and this is a time when they themselves will need help, and we will certainly try to give it to them as much as we can.

(Xinhua)09:21, August 06, 2020

UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, on Wednesday held a virtual ministerial roundtable meeting on ensuring progress toward gender equality amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese women affairs official Huang Xiaowei delivered a keynote speech at the meeting.

Huang, vice chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council and first member of the secretariat of the All-China Womens Federation, shared Chinas achievements and experience in coordinating epidemic control and economic and social development.

In the face of COVID-19, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have put the people and lives above everything else, and mobilized the whole country to fight the novel coronavirus, Huang said in the speech.

Huang introduced Chinas efforts in protecting the lives and health of women and children amid the epidemic and the roles Chinese women and womens federations have played in COVID-19 response and recovery.

Huang called for more global solidarity against the virus, as well as efforts to achieve gender equality and womens well-rounded development.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka called for more attention to womens contributions to COVID-19 response and recovery, as well as better global cooperation to build a more inclusive and equal world.

Representatives from 11 countries including China, Egypt and Uganda spoke at the roundtable, which was attended by nearly 90 people online.

(Xinhua)09:37, August 06, 2020

The Committee of 100 (C100), a non-profit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans from different fields, announced on Wednesday a donation of 850,000 N95 masks to healthcare workers in underserved communities in the United States.

The donation, valued at more than 3 million U.S. dollars, will assist disproportionately impacted minority communities and the healthcare institutions that serve them in the fight against COVID-19.

With this donation of 850,000 N95 masks, C100 seeks to provide much-needed support to nearly 100 hospitals and healthcare institutions in the communities of color that continue to bear the brunt of this pandemic, said Zhengyu Huang, president of The Committee of 100. This project is a continuation of our ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19 and collaborate on important issues that affect all Americans, but especially communities of color.

C100 is partnering with leaders from American communities of color to donate high quality FDA-approved, NIOSH-certified N95 masks straight to hospitals operating in underserved American communities.

These masks were purchased using private donations and secured in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Flexport, NYU Langone Health, and Asian Tigers Moving Storage.

C100 is covering all associated shipping costs, with support from Flexports Frontline Responders Fund. The masks will be used by doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who continue to fight the pandemic on the frontline.

Commending C100s donation, Peter Hatch, the COVID-19 public-private partnership czar of new york city said, Our healthcare workers appreciate the generosity you have shown throughout the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, C100 and its membership have been a leader in fundraising and donating needed PPE to hospitals and communities throughout the United States.

Earlier this year, C100 raised more than 1 million U.S. dollars from members and distributed high-quality FDA-approved, NIOSH-certified N95 masks, coveralls, and isolation gowns to 40 hospitals and healthcare institutions in communities hardest hit by the pandemic. C100 members have also individually donated more than 7 million U.S. dollars to combat the pandemic.