News Headlines - 25 May 2020
▽Abe declares coronavirus emergency over in Japan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Monday that the state of emergency declared over the novel coronavirus crisis is over in Japan, ending curbs on economic activity in Tokyo and four other prefectures as experts judged the spread of infections is now under control.
Abe lifted the state of emergency that had been in place since April for the Tokyo metropolitan area including Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, along with Hokkaido in northern Japan, about a week earlier than its scheduled end. But he warned that a re-imposition is possible if infections spike... The five prefectures account for about a third of the country's gross domestic product.
▽'Own goals' cost Abe support even as coronavirus emergency lifted - Reuters
A string of controversial missteps has slashed public approval ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to levels that could threaten to end his term early, even as he lifted a state of emergency after the rate of coronavirus infections declined.
The slide in ratings, now below 30%, may erode Abe’s clout in his Liberal Democratic Party and has sparked speculation that he might step down before the end of his term as ruling party leader, and hence premier, in September 2021.
His response to the pandemic, which critics call clumsy and tone deaf, had already eaten into Abe’s support.
▽Taiwan offers help to Hong Kong activists as China tightens grip | Al Jazeera
Taiwan will provide the people of Hong Kong with "necessary assistance", President Tsai Ing-wen said, after a resurgence in protests in the Chinese ruled territory against newly proposed national security legislation from Beijing.
Writing on her Facebook page late on Sunday, Tsai said the proposed legislation was a serious threat to Hong Kong's freedoms and judicial independence - a statement that is likely to rile up China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory.
Taiwan has become a refuge for a small but growing number of pro-democracy protesters fleeing Hong Kong, which has been roiled by protests since last year.
▽Remembering the Nearly 100,000 Lives Lost to Coronavirus in America - The New York Times
America is fast approaching a grim milestone in the coronavirus outbreak ―― each figure here represents one of the nearly 100,000 lives lost so far. But a count reveals only so much. Memories, gathered from obituaries across the country, help us to reckon with what we lost.
The Cycle Federation of India (CFI) has called a 15-year-old girl, who cycled 1200 km over a period of seven days, for trial.
Joyti Kumar had travelled from Gurugram to Bihar, taking her ailing father to his native place amid the nation-wide lockdown imposed because of the coronavirus.
