| CDC tested only 77 people this week; coronavirus testing slow around the nation Posted: 12 Mar 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Coronavirus testing in the United States appears to be proceeding with a marked lack of urgency. An examination of state and federal records by Yahoo News finds that American states are, on average, testing fewer than 100 people per day — while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tested fewer than 100 people total in the first two days of this week.
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| Intercepted Russian reconnaissance aircraft were watching US submarines during ICEX Posted: 11 Mar 2020 02:40 PM PDT  O'Shaughnessy said the Russian aircraft loitered about 2,500 feet above a camp that was established for the submarine exercise. He said the Russian aircraft "loitered" with an F-22 and and F-18 on their wing.
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| Republican senator: It's time to hold China 'accountable' for the coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:31 AM PDT  Sen. Tom Cotton has suggested the US investigate the highly unlikely theory coronavirus was developed in a Chinese "superlaboratory."
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| Satellite images show Iran has built mass graves amid coronavirus outbreak Posted: 12 Mar 2020 02:52 PM PDT  Trenches in city of Qom confirm worst fears about extent of the epidemic and the government's subsequent cover-upSatellite images of mass graves in the city of Qom suggest Iran's coronavirus epidemic is even more serious than the authorities are admitting.The pictures, first published by the New York Times, show the excavation of a new section in a cemetery on the northern fringe of Iran's holy city in late February, and two long trenches dug, of a total length of 100 yards, by the end of the month.They confirm the worst fears about the extent of the epidemic and the government's subsequent cover-up. On 24 February, at the time the trenches were being dug, a legislator from Qom, 75 miles (120 km) south of Tehran, accused the health ministry of lying about the scale of the outbreak, saying there had already been 50 deaths in the city, at a time when the ministry was claiming only 12 people had died from the virus nationwide.The deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, held a press conference to "categorically deny" the allegations, but he was clearly sweating and coughing as he did so. The next day, Harirchi confirmed that he had tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.Since then, members of Iranian parliament, the Majlis, a former diplomat and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, have died. Another Khamenei adviser and one of the most powerful voices in Iranian foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, was reported on Thursday to have been infected. The top ranks of Iran's clerical leadership are particularly vulnerable because of their advanced age.According to the latest health ministry figures, more than 10,000 Iranians have fallen ill from the virus and 429 have died.Amir Afkhami, who has written a history of Iran's experience of cholera epidemics, A Modern Contagion, said the mass graves add weight to suspicions the real mortality figures are much higher and are still being covered by the leadership."It doesn't surprise me that they are now trying to create mass graves and trying to hide the actual extent of the impact of the disease," Dr Afkhami, an associate professor at George Washington University, said.He added that the close trading partnership between Iran and China, and the government's fear of disrupting that partnership had contributed to the early and rapid spread of the disease."Because of China's status as the country's principal commercial partner, the Iranian government took inadequate cautionary measures to restrict and monitor travelers from China," Dr Afkhami said. "Then, later on, Tehran's lack of transparency and unwillingness to take robust measures such as social distancing and quarantine, particularly at the epicenter of the outbreak, helped spread the virus."
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| Italy death toll jumps past 1,000 as Milan bourse nosedives Posted: 12 Mar 2020 08:15 AM PDT  Italy's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic shot past 1,000 on Thursday as the economic impact worsened, with much of the country at a standstill and the Milan bourse posting its largest ever one-day fall. Looking to halt the spread of the disease, the government introduced yet more restrictions on Italians, ordering the blanket, nationwide closure of restaurants, bars and almost all shops except for food stores and chemists. Most Italians were stoical in the face of the unprecedented disruption.
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| Coronavirus travel ban throws Americans abroad into panic, airports in chaos Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:16 AM PDT  As word of an impending ban on travel to the United States spread in Barcelona, panic spread among travelers frantic to return to the U.S. It fueled a chaotic scene before the sun had even come up Thursday morning in Barcelona's El Prat airport as hundreds faced five-hour waits in lines to find that tickets home were either unavailable or unaffordable.
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| House Speaker Pelosi to unveil coronavirus aid package for workers Posted: 11 Mar 2020 01:32 PM PDT  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving swiftly toward House passage of a coronavirus aid package possibly this week as Congress rebuffs President Trump's proposed payroll tax break and focuses instead on sick pay and other resources to more immediately help workers hit by the crisis.
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| Utah passes new abortion rules, could mean felony charges for doctors and women Posted: 13 Mar 2020 07:43 AM PDT  Also headed for GOP Gov. Gary Herbert's desk is a requirement for abortion clinics to cremate or bury fetal remains.
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| Doomsday Mom Lori Vallow Tries to Get Judge Booted From Case Posted: 12 Mar 2020 09:28 AM PDT  Doomsday mom Lori Vallow is trying to get an Idaho judge booted from her case while she sits in jail, unable to raise enough money to bail out.It's not clear why Vallow—who has refused to cooperate with the investigation into her missing children—wants Madison County Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins disqualified; her lawyer's filing didn't give a reason.She appeared before Eddins last week, requesting that her $5 million bail be lowered to $10,000. Eddins lowered it to $1 million, but Vallow hasn't been able to secure a bond.Bizarre Email Is Latest Clue in Saga of Doomsday Couple With Missing KidsA number of bondsmen have been in touch with Vallow, but none have been willing to take her on."It's not about the money. I told her I don't want to write the bond. I'd rather just have this go away if she would provide where the kids are located," Danielle Kingston told East Idaho News this week."If she could provide that assurance and proof of life, this goes away. But she has rights—including her right to bail."Vallow's 17-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old son J.J. have not been seen since September, and when police started making inquiries, she and husband Chad Daybell picked up and moved to Hawaii.She was ordered to return to Idaho and produce the kids. When she didn't, she was arrested on charges of child desertion, contempt of court, and promoting a criminal act and extradited from Hawaii.In addition to hunting for the kids—who police have said are in danger—authorities are also investigating the death of Vallow's last husband, Charles, who was shot dead by her brother, Alex Cox, who has also since died under mysterious circumstances.They are also looking into the death of Daybell's last wife, Tammy, whose body has been exhumed for an autopsy. Daybell, the author of novels about near-death experiences and the apocalypse, and Vallow, who is also obsessed with doomsday scenarios, got married weeks after Tammy's death from unknown causes.Vallow was supposed to make another court appearance next week, but both her attorney and the prosecutor have asked to postpone it until May because they are gathering more evidence.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Coronavirus cruise cancellations: Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line suspend operations Posted: 12 Mar 2020 07:33 PM PDT  Viking Cruises became the first cruise line to cancel cruises through April. Princess Cruises and Disney Cruise Line followed suit.
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| Chinese foreign ministry spokesman pushes coronavirus conspiracy theory that the US Army 'brought the epidemic to Wuhan' Posted: 12 Mar 2020 10:06 AM PDT  China has pushed the narrative that the virus might have originated somewhere else. Several conspiracy theories about its origin have emerged.
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| Iran’s Khamenei Says Virus Outbreak May Be ‘Biological Attack’ Posted: 12 Mar 2020 10:53 AM PDT |
| Sister of executed man to governor: 'You killed my brother' Posted: 12 Mar 2020 03:12 PM PDT  The sister of an executed inmate, whose case drew national scrutiny because he was not the gunman, confronted Alabama's governor on Thursday for not stopping the lethal injection. The sister of Nathaniel Woods approached Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey as she spoke with reporters about the U.S. Census, WSFA reported. Woods was put to death March 5 by lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court and the governor both declined to intervene.
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| On coronavirus, White House can't get its stories straight Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:59 AM PDT  President Trump and his administration have had to issue a number of corrections and amendments to official declarations regarding COVID-19.
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| Mexico frets about U.S. coronavirus spread, could restrict border Posted: 13 Mar 2020 08:59 AM PDT  Mexico could consider measures at its northern border to slow coronavirus' spread into its relatively unaffected territory, health officials said on Friday, with an eye to containing a U.S. outbreak that has infected more than 1,800 people. Mexico has so far confirmed 16 cases of coronavirus with no deaths, a fraction of more than 1,800 cases in the United States, where 41 people have died. Mexico's deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said contagion from the United States was a threat.
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| Trump reportedly rejected aggressive coronavirus testing in hopes it would help his re-election Posted: 13 Mar 2020 05:18 AM PDT  The U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has been "much, much worse than almost any other country that's been affected," Ashish Jha, who runs the Harvard Global Health Institute, told NPR on Thursday. "I still don't understand why we don't have extensive testing. Vietnam! Vietnam has tested more people than America has." Without testing, he added, "you have no idea how extensive the infection is," and "we have to shut schools, events, and everything down, because that's the only tool available to us until we get testing back up. It's been stunning to me how bad the federal response has been."There are a lot of reasons why the U.S. lags other countries in testing for the new coronavirus -- defective early tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the decision not to adopt an effective German test adopted by the World Health Organization -- but Politico's Dan Diamond told Fresh Air's Terry Gross on Thursday that politics also seems to have played a role, along with mismanagement and infighting between, for example, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Seema Verma, the Medicare chief.In January, Azar "did push past resistance from the president's political aides to warn the president the new coronavirus could be a major problem," Diamond said, but he "has not always given the president the worst-case scenario of what could happen. My understanding is [Trump] did not push to do aggressive additional testing in recent weeks, and that's partly because more testing might have led to more cases being discovered of coronavirus outbreak, and the president had made clear -- the lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential re-election this fall."CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussed America's "sad" testing failure, the "provincial" decision not to use the WHO test, and other missteps and positive moves with Stephen Colbert on Thursday's Late Show. You can watch that below. More stories from theweek.com Why Trump fears Biden The entire country of Norway is 'shutting down' Coronavirus task force immunologist expects 'real acceleration of testing' in the next week
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| Wisconsin man who plowed truck into Girl Scout troop, killing 4, gets 54 years in prison Posted: 12 Mar 2020 01:10 PM PDT  "You know it's been called a tragedy — that doesn't seem to be enough," said the judge who handed down 22-year-old Colten Treu's sentence.
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| Biden unveils plan to combat coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:37 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden criticized President Trump's response to the coronavirus, and announced his own plan to deal with the pandemic.
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| Coronavirus patient visited conference at Mirage on Las Vegas Strip, had symptoms prior Posted: 11 Mar 2020 02:31 PM PDT  MGM Resorts International informed guests and employees that a confirmed COVID-19 patient attended a conference at the Mirage.
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| The Czech Republic declares a state of emergency and closes borders to people from 15 countries hit by the coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 07:57 AM PDT  The Czech Republic on Thursday declared a state of emergency, barred travelers from 15 countries, and closed public spaces.
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| China, US spar over origin of coronavirus Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:52 AM PDT  A Chinese government campaign to cast doubt on the origin of the coronavirus pandemic is fuelling a row with the United States, with a Beijing official promoting conspiracy theories and Washington calling it the "Wuhan virus". The spat comes as China tries to deflect blame for the contagion and reframe itself as a country that took decisive steps to buy the world time by placing huge swathes of its population under quarantine. With cases falling in China and soaring abroad, Beijing is now rejecting the widely held assessment that the city of Wuhan is the birthplace of the outbreak.
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| Europe Shocked by Trump’s Travel Ban: ‘He Needed a Scapegoat’ Posted: 12 Mar 2020 04:33 AM PDT  PARIS—Europeans woke to the news Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has banned most of them from traveling to the United States for at least a month. And while some of the details seemed to be confusing and contradictory, there was no mistaking his administration's effort to blame their governments, and the European Union specifically, for the growing novel coronavirus crisis in the United States.The pandemic is "not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," said a European Union statement on Thursday morning. Directly contradicting Trump's assertion that his administration has been "in frequent contact with our allies," they said the EU "disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation."In the meantime, media all over the Continent picked up on a line in testimony before Congress on Wednesday by Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Europe," he said, "is the new China."Many commentators saw Trump's action as overtly political, punishing the EU, which he has criticized frequently, while exempting the post-Brexit United Kingdom from the travel ban.Embattled Trump Blames Europe for Coronavirus in the U.S., Bans Travel"Trump needed a narrative to exonerate his administration from any responsibility in the crisis," the former French ambassador to Washington, Gérard Araud, wrote on Twitter. "The foreigner is always a good scapegoat." Since Trump had already blamed the Chinese, now it was the Europeans' turn and not any Europeans, but those of the EU. "Doesn't make sense but ideologically healthy," at least from Trump's point of view.Commentary in the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung was even more acerbic. Trump's address was "a speech that leaves you speechless," wrote its New York correspondent. Trump "talks about the virus the way he talks about illegal immigrants. And he has only one recipe for that: sealing borders, building walls."If Trump is looking for kudos from Great Britain for its exemption from his travel ban, he may be disappointed. Chancellor Rishi Sunak was asked Thursday morning about the travel ban. "We haven't believed that that's the right thing to do, the evidence here doesn't support that," he said. "What we are trying to do is contain the virus while recognizing that it is now likely that it will spread more significantly."While Trump has been widely criticized for his administration's handling of the pandemic looming on the American horizon, he has been praised for his relatively early decision to suspend travel from China and Iran. In his remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, he said, "The European Union failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hot spots," which is true. "As a result," Trump said, "a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe." In fact, as Trump's own experts have testified, one of the biggest problems containing the spread of what Trump called "a foreign virus" in the U.S. has been the inability to identify the original source in any given group of infections.Trump Supporters Fuel Dangerous 'Election Year' Coronavirus ClaimAccording to World Health Organization numbers as of Wednesday, China—where the disease now known as COVID-19 was first diagnosed in December—has counted 80,955 infections and 3,162 deaths. In Europe the situation is indeed serious, but not yet that serious. Italy has been hit very hard, with more than 10,000 confirmed cases and 631 deaths as of Wednesday, and Rome has taken extreme measures, effectively locking down the entire country to try to contain the spread of the disease. Great Britain has 373 confirmed cases.The U.S. up to Wednesday had recorded 696 confirmed infections, but testing has been so poorly handled and so limited that the number is considered highly unreliable. As testing improves, the figure is expected to increase dramatically.France, Spain and Germany each have between 1,000 and 2,000 confirmed cases, while the rest of the countries in what the World Health Organization calls "The European Region," have fewer than 500, in most instances far fewer. But they are lumped together as part of what is called the Schengen Area, which includes 26 countries where travel is allowed without any border controls. A week ago, Vice President Mike Pence was pointing this out—"The nature of the European Union is one doesn't require a passport to move around"— signaling the administration's consideration of the action taken by Trump on Wednesday night. REPORTS FROM THE FIELDWhile the EU does appear to have been scapegoated by Trump, it is also true that its several states have not been able to develop a single coherent and effective approach to the coronavirus threat, and the situations are dramatically different in different countries with different cultures, even as the infection spreads. In Germany (1,296 infections, 2 deaths), Chancellor Angela Merkel warned this week that as much as 70 percent of the population could be infected, and the government reportedly is experimenting with a system of drive-thru tests, enabling people to be screened for coronavirus without ever getting out of their cars.President Emmanuel Macron warned last week that in France (1,774 cases, 33 deaths) the epidemic is "inevitable," and a series of measures have been taken to try to contain the spread, stopping short of full lockdowns. He is due to make a major address to the nation on Thursday night. Meanwhile the impact on tourism in the world's most visited country and its capital, Paris, already is being felt. The Louvre Museum in Paris, for instance, was closed down briefly last week by concerned staff. It is now open but often virtually empty. Overnight many American tourists were scrambling to book flights back to the United States.Daily Beast correspondent Dana Kennedy reports from the Riviera that most of the people she's talked to refuse to take the coronavirus threat seriously, including her doctor when she saw him earlier this week. "He was wearing a mask and had an office full of patients," Kennedy writes. "He said he had yet to see one patient with the coronavirus. My doctor is a solid, intelligent guy I've known for 10 years. 'We're being manipulated by the media and who knows what else,' he said."The Netherlands (382 cases, 4 deaths) has been criticized for what some critics see as too cool a response, says correspondent Nadette De Visser. The basic approach considers that the disease cannot be prevented, but may be managed. The head of the public health institute RIVM, Jaap van Dissel, is quoted Thursday in the Dutch daily De Volkskrant explaining that the Dutch policy aims to make sure the Dutch health services can handle the influx of patients. The idea is to "make it as hard as possible for the virus. Not by putting a fire hose on it and asking for applause," van Dissell said, "but rather by putting a damper on as many little fires as possible, so the fire can be extinguished. Isolate cases. Avoid transmission. Trace new cases quickly. All this in an effort to prevent the accumulation of sick people that could cause the health care system to be disrupted." In Spain (1,639 cases, 36 deaths), Itxu Díaz reports, one member of the cabinet, Equality Minister Irene Montero, has tested positive for coronavirus and her husband has been quarantined. Both attended the huge International Women's Day march on Sunday, as did the rest of the cabinet, raising the question how many other members of the government might be infected.The situation in Spain is so serious, Díaz writes, that many people are saying they think Trump's travel ban makes sense, "despite the fact most Spaniards detest him." The Madrid regional government reportedly has been begging the government for 10 days to take drastic measures, but the government continued through Sunday, the day of the march, telling Spaniards that this was "a flu" and that no extraordinary measures were necessary.Schools and universities have been shut down but, as in other countries, students appear to see this as a holiday. "Last night the bars and terraces of Madrid were full of students celebrating the suspension of classes," writes Díaz. Office workers are leaving the capital to "tele-commute" from their home towns in Galicia, Valencia, Andalusia, and in many cases probably taking the virus with them. "The example of Italy has been useless," says Díaz.In Rome, the capital of an entire nation on lockdown, Correspondent-at-Large Barbie Latza Nadeau has been tracking disaster hour by hour."This city is in a state of shock after harsher restrictions were laid down last night," she wrote on Thursday morning. "The [Trump] travel ban for us has been in effect (though not official) for quite some time.""I sense a feeling of relief that we may see the end of this dark tunnel though," Nadeau wrote. "I think when you are in the middle of the worst of the pandemic outside of China (we are at 12,462 cases and 827 deaths according to the latest Italian government numbers) you sort of welcome someone trying to stop it."I do think Italy failed initially on its handling of the lockdown and I am sure they would also agree that the spread is almost entirely a result of mishandling of the first few cases, not believing that 'patient one' could have it because he hadn't traveled. Denial is deadly in cases like this."On one hand, and this is from a ground zero perspective, the situation feels less hopeless now that the restrictions are tighter than it did a few days ago when it seemed out of control," Nadeau wrote. "We were also told last night the numbers here might peak in another week, meaning we could easily hit 50,000 infections in Italy. The effect of the lockdown won't be seen for at least two weeks. If it failed? God only knows."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Why a media mogul was arrested in Pakistan Posted: 13 Mar 2020 08:46 AM PDT  The detention of Jang group's editor-in-chief by an anti-corruption agency prompts deep concern.
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| Iran asks for billions in loans as virus death toll climbs Posted: 12 Mar 2020 02:14 AM PDT  Iran said Thursday it asked the International Monetary Fund for a $5 billion loan to fight the coronavirus, the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that it has sought such assistance, in a staggering admission of how fragile its economy has become amid the epidemic and punishing U.S. sanctions. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the Washington-based IMF should "stand on right side of history & act responsibly" by releasing the funds. Iran's Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said he asked for the $5 billion loan last week in a letter to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.
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| Prosecutor Kim Foxx touts record as Smollett case engulfs Illinois primary Posted: 13 Mar 2020 05:22 AM PDT  Foxx seeks a second term as three Democratic primary challengers seize on the Smollett case and a fractured relationship with police.
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| Democratic debate loses moderator, moves locations over coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 10:39 AM PDT  The next Democratic debate is getting a location change, and losing a moderator, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic National Committee said on Thursday it would move this Sunday's presidential debate from Phoenix to CNN's studio in Washington, D.C. "out of an abundance of caution and in order to reduce cross-country travel," NBC News reports. Additionally, Univision's Jorge Ramos, who was set to moderate the debate, will no longer do so because he "was in proximity with someone who was in direct contact with a person that tested positive for coronavirus," per The New York Times. Ramos has been cleared by medical professionals, according to NBC. Ilia Calderón is set to take Ramos' place in the debate. The DNC previously announced that the debate, which will be a face-off between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), will happen without a live audience. More stories from theweek.com Why Trump fears Biden The entire country of Norway is 'shutting down' Trump reportedly rejected aggressive coronavirus testing in hopes it would help his re-election
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| Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie tests positive for coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 07:17 PM PDT  The prime minister is in good health with no symptoms, the spokesman said http://bit.ly/2W8iwLl in a statement on Twitter. Justin Trudeau's wife will be in isolation for the moment, while the prime minister will be in self-isolation for 14 days, according to the statement.
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| During 'Fox & Friends' interview, Jerry Falwell Jr. suggests the coronavirus is a plot to hurt Trump and says Liberty University will continue to hold in-person classes Posted: 13 Mar 2020 07:36 AM PDT  Jerry Falwell Jr. spread misinformation about the coronavirus during a segment on 'Fox & Friends' this morning.
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| In Albania, Iranian dissidents plot a revolution Posted: 12 Mar 2020 07:20 PM PDT  In a gleaming compound built from scratch on an Albanian hillside, thousands of Iranians dedicate their waking hours to toppling the regime in Tehran 3,000 kilometres away. "I think this year will be very decisive," says Zohreh Akhiani, the 56-year-old mayor of "Ashraf 3", a mini-city of some 2,800 exiled Iranians from the opposition movement the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). The dissidents hope an onslaught of crises in their homeland will aid their cause, from increasingly harsh US sanctions to recent anti-government protests and the new coronavirus, which has infected top officials.
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| Zimbabwe Gives Land Back to White Farmers After Wrecking Economy Posted: 13 Mar 2020 08:05 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Two decades after President Robert Mugabe wrecked Zimbabwe's economy by urging black subsistence farmers to violently force white commercial farmers and their workers off their land, his successor has thrown in the towel.Emmerson Mnangagwa's government has proposed settling all outstanding claims against it by farmers by offering them land."The object of the regulations is to provide for the disposal of land to persons entitled to compensation," Land Minister Perence Shiri said in regulations published in the Government Gazette Friday.The seizures that began in 2000 were ratified by the government, which said they were needed to redress colonial imbalances. A vibrant agricultural industry that exported tobacco and roses and grew most of the food the nation needed collapsed. Periodic food shortages ensued, inflation became the world's highest and the manufacturing industry was decimated. What was one of Africa's richest countries became one of its poorest.Almost 4,500 white-owned properties and others protected under government-to-government agreements were affected by the program.The southern African nation this year budgeted about Z$380 million ($21 million) for compensation. Several farms that were protected under so-called Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements belonged to nations including the U.K., South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark.To contact the reporters on this story: Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net;Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Karl MaierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'The virus is already here': Trump accused of xenophobia and shifting blame in historic coronavirus address Posted: 11 Mar 2020 08:19 PM PDT  Donald Trump has drawn fire for his reference to the coronavirus as a "foreign virus" and for focusing on a ban on European travel despite repeated warnings from health officials that the Covid-19 outbreak's inevitable surge throughout the US is coming through community spread that's already in the country.In his address to the nation on Wednesday, the president asserted that "the virus will not have a chance against us" as he blamed Europe for failing to contain the outbreak and said the administration's ban on China travel was effective in limiting its spread.
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| Farooq Abdullah: Kashmir leader released from seven-month detention Posted: 13 Mar 2020 04:47 AM PDT  Farooq Abdullah was among thousands India put under house arrest before Kashmir lost its special status.
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| Pregnant 19-year-old, child die trying to climb U.S. border wall Posted: 12 Mar 2020 12:48 PM PDT  A 19-year-old pregnant woman from Guatemala died this week from injuries suffered when she fell trying to climb the U.S. border wall near El Paso, Texas, U.S. and Guatemalan authorities said Thursday.
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| 'This is unacceptable': New York City mayor denounces coronavirus discrimination Posted: 12 Mar 2020 01:01 PM PDT  "Right now, we've seen particularly troubling instances of discrimination directed at Asian communities, particularly in Chinese community," de Blasio said.
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| The nation's top expert on infectious disease says the US is 'failing' when it comes to coronavirus and testing kits Posted: 12 Mar 2020 10:05 AM PDT  Fauci's comments about the US's "failing" came about a week after Trump visited the CDC and falsely said "anybody that needs a test gets a test."
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| Australian highest court to rule on Cardinal's appeal later Posted: 11 Mar 2020 05:00 PM PDT  Australia's highest court on Thursday said it will deliver a verdict at a later date on whether to overturn the convictions of the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of child sex abuse. Cardinal George Pell's lawyer, Bret Walker, told the High Court that if it found a lower court had made a mistake in upholding Pell's convictions, he should be acquitted. Prosecutor Kerri Judd told the seven judges that if there were a mistake, they should send the case back to the Victoria state Court of Appeal to hear it again.
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| An Italian coronavirus nurse posted a picture of her face bruised from wearing a mask to highlight how much health workers are struggling Posted: 12 Mar 2020 04:48 AM PDT  Alessia Bonari described the physical and psychological toll of fighting the coronavirus outbreak in her country, which has been hit hard.
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| Iran imposes lockdown to check all citizens for virus Posted: 13 Mar 2020 08:50 AM PDT  Iran said Friday the security forces will clear the streets nationwide within 24 hours so all citizens can be checked for coronavirus -- its toughest measure yet to combat the outbreak. The COVID-19 epidemic in Iran -- a nation of more than 80 million people -- has now claimed over 500 lives and infected more than 11,000. Since it announced the first deaths last month, Iran has shut schools, postponed events and discouraged travel ahead of Nowrouz, the country's New Year holidays.
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| Senegal is reportedly turning coronavirus tests around 'within 4 hours' while Americans might wait a week Posted: 12 Mar 2020 09:52 AM PDT  If you're going to catch coronavirus — as experts believe most of us are — you might as well catch it in Senegal. While delays and limited test kits have left sick Americans in the dark about their COVID-19 status, sometimes for a week or more, the West African nation is testing people and getting results back within as little as four hours, The Washington Post's Danielle Paquette reports.Part of that is thanks to the fact that many African countries preemptively prepared for the outbreak by setting up testing capabilities as long ago as early February, Quartz reports (as of Wednesday, Senegal only has 13 confirmed cases). But Senegalese scientists are also on the forefront of testing. In partnership with the UK-based Mologic, scientists at Dakar's Pasteur Institute are helping to develop a handheld coronavirus test kit that could diagnose COVID-19 within 10 minutes. The kit, which is being authenticated by five other international research organizations and would be manufactured in Senegal, could greatly help manage the outbreak, CNN reports.Other nations have also outpaced the U.S. in terms of testing. South Korea is testing as many as 15,000 people every day, while as of March 9 just 4,384 Americans had been tested.More stories from theweek.com Why Trump fears Biden The entire country of Norway is 'shutting down' Trump reportedly rejected aggressive coronavirus testing in hopes it would help his re-election
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| Mike Pence says 'thousands' more Americans will get coronavirus Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:55 AM PDT  Thousands more Americans will become infected with coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday.
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| 'You can't have a revolution without rallies': Biden storms ahead in Florida polls as coronavirus deflates Sanders campaign Posted: 12 Mar 2020 09:06 AM PDT  As the two remaining Democratic candidates curb their public events in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, Joe Biden has opened up a massive lead over Bernie Sanders in the crucial state of Florida.With just days to go before the state votes alongside three other states on 17 March, the University of North Florida survey finds Mr Biden outpacing Mr Sanders by 44 points. If that finding is borne out when the state votes, it would be one of Mr Sanders's most severe defeats of the whole primary season.
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| Bernard Madoff wants to make 'dying, personal plea' for freedom Posted: 12 Mar 2020 07:06 AM PDT  A dying Bernard Madoff wants to tell the U.S. judge who will decide whether to free him from prison that he has accepted responsibility for his massive Ponzi scheme, and is sincerely remorseful for his crimes and their impact on victims. In court papers filed late Wednesday and early Thursday, Madoff's lawyer Brandon Sample asked Circuit Judge Denny Chin to schedule a hearing in Manhattan where the 81-year-old Madoff could speak by phone from his prison in Butner, North Carolina, where he has served nearly 11 years of his 150-year term. A hearing would "likely to be the last proceeding in this case before Mr Madoff's death," expected within 18 months, Sample said.
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| Should you get a soundbar for your TV? Posted: 12 Mar 2020 01:55 PM PDT  A soundbar is virtually always going to be better than your TV's built-in speakers. Here's how to find the best soundbar for your setup.
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| Photos show one of the first drive-thru coronavirus testing stations in the US, where people with a doctor's note get tested free Posted: 12 Mar 2020 11:53 AM PDT  Free coronavirus testing is available to patients with a doctor's note at Colorado's first drive-thru virus test station in Denver.
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