Top 10 world news today: US sanctions Iranian ships, Russians cast early vote and more
News brief
US sanctions five Iranian ship captains over Venezuela oil delivery
The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, whose government it considers illegitimate. Read more
Russians cast early votes in ballot on President Putin's reforms to constitution
Russia has begun voting on constitutional reforms that could allow President Vladimir Putin to serve another two terms in office. Read more
Bolton says Donald Trump had turned 'a blind eye' to coronavirus pandemic
Former White House national security advisor John Bolton, who has created quite a stir with his memoir on US President Donald Trump, has said his former boss was "turning a blind eye" at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak because he did not want to hear "bad news" about his "friend," China President Xi Jinping. Read more
Pentagon names Huawei and Hikvision among 20 Chinese military-backed firms
The Pentagon put Huawei Technologies and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology on a list of 20 companies it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, opening them up to potential additional USsanctions. Read more
Republican senator Kevin Cramer has blocked a United States bill to punish Beijing over Hong Kong national security lawat the request of White House. Read more
COVID 19: WHO warns possible lack of oxygen as cases near 10 million
With a rapid increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning of possible shortage of oxygen in the world. Read more
Coronavirus: Brazil witnesses huge surge in cases; death toll goes past 53,000
Brazil has recorded a steep surge in single day spike of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.Read more
Secret Service agents to be quarantined after Trump's Tulsa rally as precaution
Dozens of Secret Service agents will be quarantined as a precaution following US President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Read more
Australia: Land of endangered species' habitat cleared without assessments
A new analysis by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Australia has found that over 1.19 million hectares of threatened species’ habitat was cleared for agriculture in New South Wales and Queensland without proper environmental assessment. Read more
Belarus accuses Russia of election meddling, seeks talks with Putin
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused Russian and Polish forces of meddling in his country’s presidential election campaign and trying to discredit him. Read more