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Homelessness amid pandemic

Millions of Americans are at risk of being forced out of their homes as a nationwide ban on evictions expires on Saturday. This comes as the US House of Representatives adjourned late Friday without extending a government moratorium on residential evictions that has been in place for 11 months. House Democrats tried to win bipartisan support to extend the ban, but their effort was blocked by Republicans. President Joe Biden had also asked Congress to extend the ban. But he had made it clear that his administration would not extend the moratorium without the congressional approval. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the eviction moratorium in September 2020. That’s when over 20 million jobs were lost in the US amid coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. They feared that increasing homelessness would boost COVID-19 infections.

China COVID-19 outbreak

China has doubled down on efforts to curb its worst COVID-19 outbreak in months by extending mass testing and lockdowns as fresh infections emerge in more parts of the country. More than one million people have been placed under lockdown to contain the Delta variant-fuelled surge. Mass testing is also underway in various parts of the country including in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, home to over 30 million people. On Saturday, Health officials confirmed 55 new cases, including in the southeastern province of Fujian. The recent outbreak first started in Jiangsu province. The cluster of infections has reached the capital Beijing and five provinces so far. Over 200 infections nationwide have been linked to the cluster. The strain poses a serious challenge to China’s zero-infection policy.

US ship seizure

The United States has seized a Singapore-owned oil tanker for transferring petroleum products to North Korea. The US Justice Department says the ship, named M/T Courageous, was confiscated by Cambodia last year. It has accused the tanker’s owner of making ship-to-ship transfers of oil to North Korean vessels. North Korea is the subject of United Nations and other sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The sanctions restrict its imports of oil and other items.


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