Five stories you may have missed this week amid the COVID-19 pandemic

A man struggles to hold his umbrella and walk against high wind in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2020.
A man struggles to hold his umbrella and walk against high wind in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Copyright AP Photo/Bikas Das
By Lauren Chadwick with AP
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Here are five stories you may have missed this week.

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Even though the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend many of our lives, the world hasn't stopped completely.

From the hacking of nine million easyJet passengers to Hungary banning the legal recognition of transgender and intersex citizens, here are the five stories you may have missed this week. 

1. Hackers access details of nine million easyJet passengers

Around nine million easyJet customers had their travel details and email addresses accessed by "highly sophisticated" hackers, the airline said on Tuesday.

Passport details were not accessed but credit card details of a further 2,208 people had been accessed.

Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP
A large number of easyJet aircrafts are parked on the tarmac of the Geneve Aeroport, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, March 30, 2020.Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP

Passengers impacted were notified and advised to "continue to be alert as they would normally be", but even more so if they should receive any unsolicited communications.

The airline encouraged extra caution to be given to any messages received that purport to be from easyJet or easyJet holidays.

2. Cyclone batters India and Bangladesh with 170kph winds

Large areas of India and Bangladesh were flooded by Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than a decade.

More than 80 people have died, many of them in West Bengal. Millions of people were left without power.

AP Photo/Bikas Das
A man struggles to hold his umbrella and walk against high wind in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2020.AP Photo/Bikas Das

The city of Kolkata was mostly underwater and its airport closed due to flooding.

The storm carried heavy rain and sustained winds of 170 kilometres per hour and gusts of 190 kilometres per hour.

3. Hungary passes bill ending legal gender recognition for trans citizens

Hungary approved legislation on Wednesday that would end the legal recognition of transgender and intersex citizens.

The new law requires individuals to record their gender in a registry at birth. This means that trans people can no longer alter their gender and name on official documents.

AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic
Hungary has approved legislation banning the legal recognition of transgender and intersex citizens.AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

“This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people," said Krisztina Tamás-Sáróy from Amnesty International.

It came days after the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia and has been widely criticised internationally by human rights organisations, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and MEPs.

Human rights campaigners launched a hashtag to #Drop33 before the vote to encourage the government not to pass it.

  1. Ukraine's president marks one year in office

Wednesday marked one year since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been in office.

The former comedian, who had no political experience before winning an election by a landslide in April 2019, has had a “turbulent” first year in office, experts say.

His first year in office was marked by several international crises from being at the centre of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial to the ongoing conflict in the country's eastern Donbas region.

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His second year is set to be even more challenging with an economic crisis and the US election looming.

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskyyAP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Meanwhile prosecutors in Ukraine this week said they are investigating leaked tapes that allegedly feature the country's former leader Petro Poroshenko discussing conditions for a $1 billion loan with former US Vice President Joe Biden.

The tapes, which are yet to be authenticated, were released on Tuesday, May 19, by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach.

5. Passenger plane crashes in residential area near Karachi with 107 on board

A Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 99 passengers and eight crew crashed in Karachi on Friday.

The flight originating Lahore, Pakistan crashed in the heavily congested and poor Model Colony neighbourhood, situated several kilometres from Jinnah International Airport.

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AP Photo/Fareed Khan
Fire brigade staff try to put out fire caused by plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 22, 2020.AP Photo/Fareed Khan

There were conflicting reports about casualties with some unnamed officials telling the AP that there a few survivors.

Eyewitness video captured at the scene of the crash shows plane debris scattered across the floor of the residential area.

Additional sources • Rachael Kennedy, Matthew Holroyd

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