Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from around the world. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.
Anti-racism protests around the world, New Zealand eradicating the novel coronavirus, the re-start of building works on Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, reported U.S. plans to withdraw troops from Germany and Brazil's government stopping the publishing of COVID-19 data make up this week’s five international stories.
Anti-racism protesters rally around the world, topple statue
Thousands of people took to the streets of European cities to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, with protesters in Bristol, England, venting their anger at the country’s colonial history by toppling a statue of a 17th-century slave trader. In Brussels, protesters clambered onto the statue of former King Leopold II, who is said to have reigned over the mass death of 10 million Congolese, and chanted “reparations,” according to a social media video.
Read more: George Floyd
With recovery of last case, New Zealand has eradicated virus
New Zealand appears to have completely eradicated the coronavirus after health officials said Monday the last known infected person had recovered. The announcement was greeted with joy around the country and means the nation of 5 million people will be among the first to welcome fans back into sports stadiums, embrace crowded concerts and remove seating restrictions from flights. Monday marked the first time since late February there have been no active cases.
Read more: Virus Outbreak
Building works re-start in Paris’ fire-ravaged Notre Dame
Works have restarted in Paris’ fire-ravaged Notre Dame cathedral after a hiatus linked to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday morning operations began to dismantle scaffolding that was already in place before the April 2019 fire amid previous restoration efforts on the old structures. This current phase has been deemed highly dangerous because the scaffolding weighs over 200 tons, and is thought to have melted together in areas because of the heat of the blaze.
Read more: Paris
Germany: US troop withdrawal could harm NATO security
Germany’s defense minister suggested Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported plans to withdraw more than a quarter of American troops out of Germany could weaken not only the NATO alliance but the U.S. itself. Trump is said to have has signed off on a plan to reduce the total of troops stationed in Germany from 34,500 to no more than 25,000, according to reports by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Read more: Germany
Brazil expunges virus death toll as data befuddles experts
Brazil’s government has stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections in an extraordinary move that critics call an attempt to hide the true toll of the disease in Latin America’s largest nation. Saturday’s move came after months of criticism from experts that Brazil’s statistics are woefully deficient, and in some cases manipulated, so it may never be possible to understand the depth of the pandemic in the country.
Read more: Brazil