China Covid News LIVE Updates: China orders Covid lockdown in Zhengzhou after iPhone factory protests
China Covid News LIVE Updates: A central Chinese city home to a massive iPhone factory has ordered an effective lockdown for several districts, as officials struggle to control a Covid-19 outbreak that has sparked violent protests and panic. Residents of Zhenghzhou’s city centre cannot leave the area unless they have a negative Covid test and permission from local authorities, and are advised not to leave their homes “unless necessary”, the local government said.
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Ongoing protests may delay completion of Adani port in Vizhinjam
Keen to finish the project as early as possible, the state government has appealed to the church authorities to end the protest as it was crucial for bringing changes to the industrial and economic sector of the country.
Mild tremor in Palghar; no casualty
The tremor was recorded at 4.04 am on Wednesday, 24 kilometres east of Dahanu at a depth of 5 km, an official from the district disaster control room said.
Kamal Haasan admitted to Chennai hospital
Tamil Nadu | Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan was admitted to Sri Ramachandra Hospital in Chennai last night after he complained of fever.
Rupee rises 21 paise to 81.72 against US dollar in early trade
Covid Update
Single day rise of 408 infections push India’s COVID-19 tally to 4,46,70,483, death toll climbs to 5,30,601: Health Ministry.
China orders Covid lockdown in Zhengzhou after iPhone factory protests
A central Chinese city home to a massive iPhone factory has ordered an effective lockdown for several districts, as officials struggle to control a Covid-19 outbreak that has sparked violent protests and panic. Residents of Zhenghzhou’s city centre cannot leave the area unless they have a negative Covid test and permission from local authorities, and are advised not to leave their homes “unless necessary”, the local government said.
Apple says it has staff on site at Foxconn Zhengzhou facility
Apple said on Thursday it has team members on the ground at the Foxconn Zhengzhou iPhone manufacturing facility, which was hit by worker protests in recent days. “We have Apple team members on the ground at our supplier Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility. We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees’ concerns are addressed,” the company said.
ISRO conducts 200th consecutive successful launch of RH200 sounding rocket
RH200, the versatile sounding rocket of ISRO, has registered its 200th consecutive successful launch from the shores of Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday termed it a “historic moment”. It was witnessed by former President Ram Nath Kovind and ISRO chairman S Somanath, among others.
EU split on Russian oil price cap level
European Union governments failed to reach a deal on Wednesday at what level to cap prices for Russian sea-borne oil under the Group of Seven nations (G7) scheme and will resume talks on Thursday evening or on Friday, EU diplomats said. Earlier on Thursday representatives of the EU’s 27 governments met in Brussels to discuss a G7 proposal to set the price cap in the range of $65-$70 per barrel, but the level proved too low for some and too high for others.
China’s Shanghai Disney Resort to resume full operation from Nov 25
Shanghai Disney Resort said it will resume full operation including reopening Disneyland from Nov. 25, the resort and amusement park operator said in a notice on WeChat. China’s COVID-19 curbs forced the temporary closure of Disney’s Shanghai resort on Oct. 31.
Musk floats ‘general amnesty’ of suspended Twitter accounts
New Twitter owner Elon Musk on Wednesday polled users on whether the site should offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, using the same method he used to handle the case of Donald Trump. The move comes as Musk has faced pushback that his criteria for content moderation is subject to his personal whim, with reinstatements decided for certain accounts and not others.
Air pollution killed 238,000 Europeans prematurely in 2020: EEA
Fine particle air pollution led to 238,000 premature deaths in the European Union in 2020, the bloc’s environmental watchdog said Thursday, a slight rise from the previous year. Across the 27-nation bloc that year, “exposure to concentrations of fine particulate matter above the 2021 World Health Organization guideline level resulted in 238,000 premature deaths,” the European Environment Agency said in a new report.
Foxconn says ‘technical error’ occurred when hiring new recruits and apologises
Reports Reuters
Foxconn continues to communicate with employees engaged in smaller-scale protests – Reuters source familiar with matter
Earthquake hits Meghalaya
An earthquake of magnitude 3.4 occurred 37km East-North-East of Tura, Meghalaya at around 03:46am today. The depth of the earthquake was 5 km below the ground: National Center for Seismology
Nirav Modi seeks permission to appeal extradition in UK top court
Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi has filed an application in the High Court in London, seeking permission to appeal against his extradition order in the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old diamantaire lost an appeal on mental health grounds earlier this month, when a two-judge High Court bench ruled that his risk of suicide was not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.
USD740M in crypto assets recovered in FTX bankruptcy so far
The company tasked with locking down the assets of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has managed to recover and secure USD740 million in assets so far, a fraction of the potentially billions of dollars likely missing from the company’s coffers. The numbers were disclosed on Wednesday in court filings by FTX, which hired the cryptocurrency custodial company BitGo hours after FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11.
Russia, declared ‘terror’ state by EU lawmakers, batters Ukraine grid
Fresh Russian strikes battered Ukraine’s already failing electricity grid, causing blackouts across the war-torn nation and in neighboring Moldova, in attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN were “an obvious crime against humanity”. The Ukrainian energy system has been left in tatters and millions have been subjected to long periods without electricity after weeks of Russian bombardments, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning the country’s priority this winter would be “survival”.
Kim’s sister makes insulting threats to Seoul over sanctions
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made insult-laden threats against South Korea on Thursday for considering unliteral sanctions on the North, calling the South’s new president and his government “idiots” and “a running wild dog gnawing on a bone given by the U.S.”
Buffett donates over USD750 million to his family charities
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett donated more than USD750 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the four foundations run by his family, but unlike his annual gifts to charity each summer, the recipients didn’t include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett has been making annual donations to the same five charities every year since 2006 when he unveiled a plan to give away his fortune over time, with the Gates Foundation receiving the biggest donations. Wednesday’s donations mark the first time the 92-year-old has made a second major gift within the same year.