Flashback of July 2020 - Looking Back Into the Past!

So we are on to August. Will things ever get back to how they were?

I sure hope it proves to be the light at the end of the tunnel for all of us who have patiently headed to the ‘’homebody’’ lifestyle and daily routine.

Half a year has gone by just like that! It’s crazy and sad that not one bit of 2020 has turned out to be what we hoped it would be, but what is done is done. While we have our fingers crossed for smooth sails ahead, let’s look at the recent developments from around the world

World statistics – the ongoing battle with the coronavirus pandemic

New daily cases and fatalities are recorded at an alarming pace in the US, followed by Brazil, India and, Russia. While diligent social distancing and strict hygiene routines are fervently followed to keep the pandemic at bay, the biomedical industry is on a clocked race to quite literally set the world straight. The first Phase 3 clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine in the United States, developed by the pharmaceutical company ‘’Moderna’’ is now underway in affiliation with the National Institutes of Health. It’s one of 25 potential vaccines in clinical trials around the world. Currently, vaccine trials are also in progress in Australia, Germany, China, and the UK.

Dubai Airport reopens for commercial travel

7 July-International visitors were granted entry to Dubai from several cities including Cairo, Amsterdam, and London. Procedures set in place to ensure a secure transition for incoming visitors include stringent health screening at the airport premises. Furthermore, International tourists possessing COVID-19 negative certification will be exempted from having to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

Twitter bitcoin scam

15 July- A security breach in the administration system of Twitter resulted in many prominent accounts promoting a bitcoin scam. It is reported that over 130 high profiled Twitter accounts were compromised through social engineering to gain access to the said accounts and post directly, asking individuals to send bitcoin currency to a specific cryptocurrency wallet, with the promise of the Twitter user that money sent would be doubled and returned as a benevolent gesture.

Muslims world over celebrate a drastically scaled-down hajj festival

28 July- On a normal year, the journey to the holy sites in the cities of Mecca and Medina attracts over 2 million devotees of the Islamic faith. This year due to new crowd control restrictions put in place by Saudi Arabian officials, only 1000 pilgrims will observe Hajj, Islam’s most important annual pilgrimage.

Former Malaysian premier sentenced to 12 years in jail

28 July- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted at the Duta Court Complex in Kuala Lumpur about charges concerning the trial of the 1MDB scandal. The charges of the multi-billion-dollar scandal that ended the patrician politician’s reign of power includes criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering.

International Day of Friendship celebrated in a new light

30 July-Marks the International Day of Friendship. The day proclaimed by the united nations is celebrated with mixed feelings this year as friends and even family have only been able to communicate via online platforms during the past months.

Hopefully, we will be able to make up for the lost time when the dust settles.

A step furthered in the human exploration of the red planet

30 July- The Mars 2020 mission carrying the Perseverance rover and Mars helicopter Ingenuity successfully launched atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 in Florida, USA. The launch that took place on July 30, 2020, at 4:50 a.m. PDT (7:50 a.m. EDT) is equipped with one of the largest rockets available for interplanetary flight. The objective of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is to search for signs of ancient microbial life, that will advance NASA’s quest to explore the past habitability of Mars.