Bolsonaro expected to fire defiant Brazilian health minister
Brazilian health officials braced on Wednesday for President Jair Bolsonaro to fire his health minister over disagreements on how to handle the coronavirus outbreak, with at least one secretary offering his resignation in protest.
Pompeo urges full transparency on coronavirus in call with top Chinese diplomat, U.S. says
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday pressed China’s top diplomat on the need for full transparency and information sharing as Washington ramped up its pressure on Beijing over the coronavirus outbreak.
Poland’s PiS seeks constitutional change to extend president’s term
Poland’s ruling nationalists have proposed changing the constitution to extend President Andrzej Duda’s term by two years because of threats related to the coronavirus pandemic, a draft bill filed with the parliament showed late on Wednesday.
Israel’s Netanyahu, Gantz fail to reach unity deal, deadlock persists
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival Benny Gantz failed to strike a unity government deal in last-ditch talks late on Wednesday.
As Brazil’s COVID-19 testing lags, available labs go unused
Despite Brazil’s backlog of more than 90,000 specimens awaiting coronavirus testing and a rising death toll, laboratories are idle due to a lack of materials, the agriculture ministry said.
U.S. Navy says Iran Revolutionary Guards navy harassed its vessels in Gulf
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels approached U.S. Navy vessels on Wednesday in a “dangerous and harassing” manner, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.
Iranian vessels come dangerously close to U.S. military ships
Eleven vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative.”
China may have conducted low-level nuclear test blasts, U.S. says
China may have secretly set off low-level underground nuclear test explosions despite claiming to observe an international pact banning such blasts, the U.S. State Department said in a report on Wednesday that could fuel U.S.-Chinese tensions.
Hong Kong? Bushfires? What’s been happening on the biggest non-coronavirus stories of the year
The year started with protests, bushfires and a missile strike.
Iran detained Hong Kong-flagged ship before letting it sail: sources
A Hong Kong-flagged tanker was briefly detained in Iran before being freed after armed Iranian guards in speedboats directed the vessel into its waters while it was sailing through the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources said on Wednesday.
