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Author: Vijeta Uniyal

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Vijeta Uniyal

Vijeta Uniyal is a writer based in Germany. He is Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Gatestone Institute and founder of the "Indians For Israel".

Iran has threatened the United States over its oil shipments to Venezuela. In a letter written to the United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warned against "America's movements in deploying its navy to the Caribbean." Tehran believes that action will disrupt its oil supplies to the Latin American country.

Europe witnessed a wave of anti-lockdown protests on Saturday. Germany saw a huge surge in demonstrations. Thousands came out in Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart against the measures imposed in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Warsaw, Poland and arrests were made in London's Hyde park, the European media reported.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have returned to Hong Kong as coronavirus lockdown phases out. A big anti-government protest took place at a popular shopping mall on Sunday, where hundreds of riot police showed up to clamp down the protest. The police arrested more than 250 protesters over the weekend, the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post reported.

The European Union wants to restart its tourism sector as the spread of coronavirus recedes, a newly released policy document shows. A strategy document compiled by the European Commission, EU's executive arm, titled “Europe needs a break” recommends gradual lifting of border restrictions between member states to promote inner-European travel, the news agency Reuters reported.

Hackers with links to Iran have targeted a U.S. drugmaker working on a potential coronavirus treatment, Reuters news agency reported on Friday. The US drugmaker Gilead Sciences, whose antiviral drug remdesivir has shown promising results in treating coronavirus patients, came repeatedly under cyber attack from servers based in Iran in recent weeks, media reports reveal.

Germany is moving ahead with "bold" measures to phase out the Wuhan coronavirus lockdown, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday. The country was "following a bold path" in lifting nationwide restrictions in place for more than seven weeks, she said. The announcement comes as Germany registers a decline in the new cases of coronavirus virus despite the easing of lockdown measures.

Germany banned the Iran-sponsored terrorist group Hezbollah from operating in the country, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer disclosed on Thursday. The announcement came ahead of police raids on several mosques located across Germany. "Police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently" against Hezbollah backers, Seehofer confirmed.

European governments are moving towards the easing of Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns, media reports suggest. Many European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, have begun working on their respective "exit plans" to restore normalcy as the spread of coronavirus in their countries slows down.

Protests were held in Berlin and other German cities against the lockdown measures imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, around 1000 protesters came out in German capital Berlin and hundreds in the southern German cities of Stuttgart and Würzburg against restrictions in place since March 22, German newspapers reported.

British lawmakers and government officials have been told not to use the video conferencing platform Zoom due to concerns over Chinese surveillance, the London-based newspaper Guardian reported on Friday. The UK intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), cautioned them against using the web-based service for official or confidential matters -- especially if they relate to China. The top British Intelligence service specifically warned the senior Members of Parliament "not use it to talk about things detrimental to the interests of China," the daily added.

After the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics, Germany has called off Oktoberfest set to take place between September 19 and October 4. With Germany struggling to contain Wuhan coronavirus, "the risk is simply too big," Bavarian state Prime Minister Markus Söder said while announcing his decision. "To live with coronavirus means to live carefully till there is a vaccine or a medicine," he added.

With neighboring countries struggling with the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Beijing is tightening its control of disputed islands in the South China Sea. During President Barack Obama's time in office, China began a massive project of creating artificial islands in the area. These man-made islands have since been converted into military installations, naval bases, and aircraft landing strips for the Chinese military.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced strong support for the World Health Organization (WHO) after the United States cut its funding earlier this week. Chancellor Merkel "expressed her full support for the WHO," German government spokesman Steffan Seibert said on Thursday. German leader "defends the WHO's work following sharp criticism from Trump," German weekly Der Spiegel reported.