5 international stories of the week

<p>A worker checks a lung ventilator "Corovent" June 17, 2020, manufactured in Trebic, Czech Republic. A group of volunteers in the Czech Republic was working round the clock to prevent critical shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients. <strong>(AP Photo/Petr David Josek)</strong></p>

A worker checks a lung ventilator "Corovent" June 17, 2020, manufactured in Trebic, Czech Republic. A group of volunteers in the Czech Republic was working round the clock to prevent critical shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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.

India’s ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps, Iran’s damaged nuclear site, the United Kingdom’s sanctions on Russians and Saudis implicated in human rights violations, the Canadian prime minister turning down an invite to the White House and a positive story from the Czech Republic make up this week’s five international stories.


India is banning 59 apps with Chinese links, saying their activities endanger the country’s sovereignty, defense and security. The decision comes as its troops are in a tense standoff with Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh in the Himalayas that started last month. (AP Photo, File)

India bans TikTok, other Chinese apps amid border standoff

Indian TikTok users awoke Tuesday to a notice from the popular video app saying the company was working to comply with an India government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. The ban was largely symbolic since the apps can’t be automatically erased from devices where they’ve already been downloaded. The move was a response to a border clash with China where 20 Indian soldiers died earlier this month.

Read more: Technology


A building is damaged by a fire at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility July 2, 2020, some 200 miles south of the capital Tehran, Iran. Iran confirmed that a damaged building at the underground Natanz nuclear site was a new centrifuge assembly center. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

Iran confirms damaged nuclear site was centrifuge facility
Iran on Sunday confirmed that a damaged building at the underground Natanz nuclear site was a new centrifuge assembly center. Iranian officials had previously sought to downplay the fire, which erupted early on Thursday, calling it only an “incident” that affected an “industrial shed.” However, a released photo and video of the site broadcast by Iranian state television showed a two-story brick building with scorch marks and its roof apparently destroyed.

Read more: Iran


Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab arrives at 10 Downing Street, May 7, 2020, in London. Raab on Monday announced targeted economic sanctions against individuals and organizations from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and North Korea under new U.K. powers to punish human-rights offenders.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)

UK sanctions Russians, Saudis under new Magnitsky powers

Britain on Monday announced economic sanctions against individuals and organizations from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and North Korea under new U.K. powers to punish human rights offenders. The sanctions targeted those behind human rights violations like senior Saudi intelligence officials accused in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Russian authorities implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in a Moscow prison.

Read more: Jamal Khashoggi


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage June 18, 2020, in Ottawa. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Trudeau turns down White House invitation amid pandemic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned down a White House invitation to celebrate the new regional free trade agreement in Washington with U.S President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Trump and López Obrador are due to meet Wednesday Washington, but Trudeau spokesperson Chantal Gagnon said Monday that while Canada wishes the U.S. and Mexico well, Trudeau won’t be there.

Read more: Trade agreements


Lung ventilators manufactured in Trebic, Czech Republic, being tested June 17, 2020. A group of volunteers in the Czech Republic was working round the clock to prevent critical shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech volunteers develop functioning lung ventilator in days
Working around the clock, a team of 30 Czechs developed a fully functional ventilator — Corovent — in a matter of days. The team is an informal group of volunteers formed by IT companies and experts who offered to help the Czech Republic fight the pandemic. The virus struck the country slightly later than in western Europe but the number of infected was rising and time was running out just as ventilators had become a precious commodity.

Read more: One Good Thing

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