| A timeline of Trump's missed opportunities on coronavirus Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:32 PM PDT  As the deadly coronavirus outbreak rapidly spread across America in February and March, President Trump repeatedly asserted that "nobody could have predicted something like this." But a review of government records shows that repeated warnings were issued to the White House and went unheeded.
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| Coronavirus: New York ramps up mass burials amid outbreak Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:25 AM PDT  Drone footage shows coffins stacked in a pit in the city, as the state logs more cases than any country.
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| U.S. spy agencies collected raw intel hinting at public health crisis in Wuhan, China, in November Posted: 09 Apr 2020 03:43 PM PDT  Current and former officials say there was no formal assessment in November but that there was raw intelligence that fueled formal assessments written in December.
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| Europe Is Looking at Several More Weeks of Virus Lockdowns Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:34 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Italy and Spain are preparing for several more weeks under lockdown as volatile coronavirus infection rates prevent Europe's governments from easing curbs on public life.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, whose country has reported the most virus-linked deaths worldwide, is leaning toward an extension to early May, though a small number of businesses may be allowed to reopen. Spain prolonged a state of emergency until April 25 and the U.K. also is likely to extend restrictions.German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined Spain and Italy on Thursday in upholding curbs on people's movement and face-to-face contacts, saying progress in defeating the pandemic is "fragile" and it's too early to relent. In a plea echoed elsewhere in Europe, she called on Germans to abide by the measures over the long Easter weekend."We must stay focused," she said after a cabinet meeting.As the pandemic maintains its grip on Europe, policy makers are caught between the urgent need to restart battered economies and calls by health officials to maintain lockdowns. Political uncertainty in the U.K. eased after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from intensive care, though he remained hospitalized to recover from a coronavirus infection.Merkel's cautious words echo the approach in other European countries faced with major outbreaks. Italy reported a rise in deaths and infections, while France's death toll increased with a backlog of data from nursing homes. U.K. deaths, though lower than in Europe's worst-hit countries, rose by 881 to almost 8,000."We're not done yet, we must keep going," Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who is deputizing for Johnson, said in London. "Deaths are still rising, and we still haven't seen the peak of the virus."Conte's DilemmaItaly's containment measures run until Monday. Conte is inclined to keep those restrictions fundamentally unchanged, according to three trade union and business representatives who met with him on Thursday. The Italian premier is expected to announce an extension as early as Friday, according to two officials.Any slight easing will be gradual and on a regional basis, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified by name in line with policy. Businesses that could be allowed to open include bookshops and stationary stores, agricultural machinery makers, forestry companies and perhaps sellers of baby clothes, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.With expanded testing under way, Italy recorded Thursday a second straight increase in the number of daily new coronavirus cases, counting 4,204 confirmed infections compared with 3,836 on Wednesday. Another 610 patients died, bringing the death toll to 18,279, according to civil protection authorities.Infections in Spain rose to more than 157,000 and deaths surpassed 15,800 on Friday, underscoring the severity of Europe's most-extensive outbreak, even as daily fatalities slowed to the lowest since March 24.Spanish lawmakers extended a national state of emergency for a second time on Thursday as the opposition People's Party joined Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's coalition government in supporting the measure. His government's poll ratings have declined as the virus ravaged Spain's health system.Get Going AgainFrance reported 1,341 new deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday after including two days of data from nursing homes, while the number of intensive-care patients declined for the first time since the outbreak began."So we can hope for a leveling off, but it's a very high leveling off," Jerome Salomon, head France's public health agency, said at a briefing. "It remains to be confirmed in the days ahead."New cases in Germany climbed the most in five days, according to figures Thursday from Johns Hopkins University. Merkel and the premiers of Germany's 16 states plan to meet on Wednesday to consider the next steps."I would really love to be the first one to say to you that everything is how it was and we can get things going again," Merkel said Thursday. "But that's not the case. My job right now is to say what is happening now."(Updates with Spanish data from Friday in 11th paragraph)For 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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| Chad's army says 52 soldiers, 1,000 Boko Haram fighters killed in operation Posted: 09 Apr 2020 12:37 PM PDT |
| South Korea reported that 51 coronavirus patients' infections went away then 'reactivated' but it's unlikely the virus has a dormancy period Posted: 09 Apr 2020 04:48 PM PDT  Health authorities said 51 COVID-19 patients in recovery tested negative then positive again within a "relatively short time." It's not clear how.
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| Modly's Final Message to the Fleet: 'I Lost Situational Awareness' Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:24 AM PDT  Thomas Modly, who resigned from his position on Tuesday, told sailors and Marines they are justified in being angry with him.
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| UN agency says 280 migrants stranded in unsafe port in Libya Posted: 09 Apr 2020 01:59 PM PDT  The Libyan coast guard rescued 280 migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and diverted them to the shores of the North African country, only to have them banned from disembarking, the U.N. migration agency said. The migrants, hungry and exhausted after 72 hours at sea, remained stuck on a crowded coast guard ship overnight after being denied entry to the capital, Tripoli. Fighting has engulfed Tripoli in recent months as eastern-based forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter have escalated their year-long siege.
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| New Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll shows Americans turning against Trump Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:13 PM PDT  The new survey found that Americans increasingly blame Trump for the vast scale of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.
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| Coronavirus: WHO chief and Taiwan in row over 'racist' comments Posted: 09 Apr 2020 07:39 AM PDT  Taiwan rejects accusations by the UN health body's head that racist slurs against him originated there.
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| This is how coughing can spread coronavirus in a store, according to researchers Posted: 09 Apr 2020 05:24 PM PDT  Data shows tiny airborne particles emitted with a cough, sneeze "or even talking" spread in an invisible cloud that lingers.
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| Thousands of People in Dorms Pose New Challenge to Singapore Virus Fight Posted: 09 Apr 2020 06:31 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Tightly packed dormitories housing thousands of foreign workers have emerged as one of Singapore's biggest challenges in its fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus.The city state reported its highest daily increase of infections Thursday, and more than 200 of the 287 new cases were linked to foreign worker dormitories that house mainly low-wage workers in construction and other sectors. Those groups now account for about a quarter of the country's 1,910 cases.Authorities have moved swiftly to isolate the clusters. Two dormitories that together house almost 20,000 people were on Sunday designated by the Ministry of Manpower as "isolation areas" after new, linked virus cases emerged, while two more dormitories were gazetted this week. Residents were ordered to stay in their shared rooms for two weeks, but would still receive wages as well as deliveries of food and other essentials."It is honestly a difficult situation," said Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases physician at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital, who drew comparisons to cruise ships like the Diamond Princess, where about 700 of its roughly 3,700 passengers were infected with Covid-19. "This is going to be a big mess."For Singapore, a country that has been championed by health officials for its methodical virus response since the outbreak began, the move to quarantine potentially exposed workers living in close proximity has raised questions about whether the conditions will allow for social distancing -- one of the key strategies utilized around the world to contain the outbreak's spread."To try and sort this out, they need to remain in the rooms for weeks with no interactions," Leong said, adding that Singapore would have to also navigate language barriers and cultural differences among the workers.Adequate social distancing is already a challenge for those who don't live in worker dorms. The government gave out more than 7,000 warnings to people who didn't observe rules on the first day of a month-long so-called "circuit breaker" that has seen schools and most workplaces closed. The prime minister warned Thursday that people are still not doing enough to stay apart from one other.Key WorkforceForeigners make up about 38% of Singapore's overall workforce, including foreign domestic workers, according to government figures through the end of last year. They have an outsize share in the construction industry, where three of every four workers is foreign, while foreigners account for about half of Singapore's manufacturing workforce and 30% in services.A fixture in industries that depend on low-wage workers, there are more than 200,000 migrants from across Asia who live in 43 dormitories in Singapore, Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo wrote in a Facebook post on Monday, noting there was "no question" standards in dormitories should be raised. Singapore charities that support migrant workers say they have seen 10 or more people share a single room.With the coronavirus ravaging much of the planet, crowded spaces like these "pose transmission risks for everyone," the World Health Organization said."When people are in quarantine, physical distancing becomes even more challenging," a WHO spokesman wrote by email. "In such conditions, it's especially important to follow guidance on regular hand washing, respiratory etiquette and other practices to keep people healthy and prevent disease spread."Singapore is providing on-site support, including food and essential supplies while preventive measures are being put in place in the dormitories, the spokesman wrote.The government has so far closed non-essential amenities such as gyms and libraries, prevented inter-mingling between blocks, staggered meal and recreation times. It's also established basic health care facilities at two of the dormitories, while the authorities are seeking to whittle down the number of residents in affected blocks. Some healthy foreign workers operating in essential services have been moved to vacant public housing apartments.Meanwhile, Singapore has also deployed its army doctors, medical military experts and medics at the dormitories to take care of foreign workers who are unwell or infected, according to a Facebook post by Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen.Singapore is not the only country with coronavirus clusters in foreign worker residences. In Malaysia, the government on Tuesday imposed an "enhanced movement control order" on two apartment facilities in Kuala Lumpur that house some 6,000 residents after 15 people tested positive for the virus, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Wednesday. 97% of the residents are from abroad, mostly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, he said.Crowded SpacesWith 38 confirmed cases currently, the purpose-built workers accommodation Westlite Toh Guan was among the two facilities to be isolated in Singapore on Sunday. There, a total of 6,800 residents are spread across 687 apartment units with an average of eight to 10 occupants per room, according to emails with Centurion Corporation, which owns the buildings. The units include bathrooms, a kitchen, showers and dining space.Like the other gazetted dormitories, residents there have received care packs consisting of masks, thermometers and hand sanitizer, and "after some initial hitches" meals are being delivered in a timely fashion, according to a government statement on Tuesday.Ah Hlaing, a Burmese caregiver at a daycare center for the elderly who shares an apartment at the dormitory with about 10 people, said after initially being upset over the new rules, she acknowledges they are necessary.She was "upset because we can't go out and have to stay in the room," Ah said, adding she has had access to the essentials including food and sanitary products. "We have to accept now that at this time, we can't do anything."Some rights groups have expressed concern the government is not doing enough."The key vulnerability, crowding, is not really being addressed with sufficient determination," said Alex Wu, vice president at Transient Workers Count Too, a registered charity that helps low-wage migrant workers. "Infectious diseases thrive through human proximity. In fact, requiring workers to stay in their rooms except for occasional periods will intensify contact, not reduce it."(Updates with new infection data in second paragraph)For 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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| Gaza runs out of coronavirus tests, Palestinian health officials say Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:11 AM PDT  The Gaza Strip has no more coronavirus test kits, Palestinian health officials said on Wednesday, amid fears of disaster if the illness spreads in the blockaded, densely packed enclave. "Testing at our central laboratory has stopped, after coronavirus test kits completely ran out," Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. The ministry is run by the enclave's Islamist rulers, Hamas.
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| Sweden said it didn't need a lockdown because people could be trusted to socially distance themselves. The government still says the strategy is working. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:33 AM PDT  Sweden's Parliament is preparing in case it needs to introduce more restrictions, but for now the government is defending its unusual strategy.
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| Report: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen moved to solitary confinement Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:45 AM PDT  President Trump's former personal attorney has reportedly been placed in solitary confinement at a federal prison.
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| A 44-year-old marathon runner says he now has to sit on a plastic stool in the shower, unable to stand for long after being on a ventilator for a severe case of COVID-19 Posted: 09 Apr 2020 11:42 PM PDT  "My physician father had warned me: 'You better not get put on a ventilator. People don't come back from that,'" David Lat wrote in an op-ed.
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| Leading Scientific Journal Nature Apologizes for ‘Associating’ Coronavirus with China Posted: 09 Apr 2020 12:05 PM PDT  The leading British scientific journal Nature apologized in an article published on Tuesday for "associating" the coronavirus with its origin place in China on the grounds that the linkage had inspired racist attacks against people with Asian heritage across the world."That we did so was an error on our part, for which we take responsibility and apologize," the journal said in an article published Tuesday.The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China and first appeared in bats thought to have infected wild animals that were sold in the city's wet markets. Since then, it has spread to at least 177 countries and infected 1.4 million people. As of Thursday morning, at least 89,000 people had died after contracting the respiratory illness."It's clear that since the outbreak was first reported, people of Asian descent around the world have been subjected to racist attacks, with untold human costs – for example, on their health and livelihoods," the article read.Nature remarked that the World Health Organization's dubbing the new coronavirus COVID-19 was a subtle reminder to "those who had erroneously been associating the virus with Wuhan and with China in their news coverage – including Nature."The publication urged that "Coronavirus stigma must stop – now.""It would be tragic if stigma, fueled by the coronavirus, led Asia's young people to retreat from international campuses, curtailing their own education, reducing their own and others' opportunities and leaving research worse off – just when the world is relying on it to find a way out," the journal said.The Nature report also chastised "a minority of politicians," who are "sticking with the outdated script.""Continuing to associate a virus and the disease it causes with a specific place is irresponsible and needs to stop," the report said.President Trump briefly referred to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," defending his use of the term by saying "it comes from China," but later backed away from the phrase after reports of an uptick in violence against Asian Americans."Look, everyone knows it came out of China, but I decided we shouldn't make any more of a big deal out of it," Trump said early last month.The Communist Chinese government has denied that the virus originated in China and said that it is "strongly indignant" over the phrase, calling it "a kind of stigmatization." Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang demanded last month that the U.S. "immediately stop its unjustified accusations against China."
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| Fox News says the coronavirus death toll is inflated. Experts say the opposite. Posted: 09 Apr 2020 06:20 AM PDT  In his 2017 book "The Loudest Voice in the Room," journalist Gabriel Sherman reported that top Fox News executives meet every morning to strategize about how the network can angle its daily coverage to advance the Republican Party's political agenda.
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| Senate Democrats block McConnell's $250 billion small business loans bill, demanding double funding Posted: 09 Apr 2020 08:24 AM PDT  Senators will either have to return to Washington or get negotiating to get the next round of coronavirus relief funding flowing.With just four senators in the chamber on Thursday, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) blocked a unanimous voice vote in favor of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's $250 billion small business loans bill. Cardin called the bill a "political stunt," and reiterated congressional Democrats' demands for greater accountability and diversity in how the bill would be spent.Cardin's opposition didn't come as a surprise, seeing as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled Democrats' demands for the bill on Wednesday. They'd like to see that $250 billion doubled, with an extra $100 billion going to hospitals, community health centers, and health systems; $150 billion for state and local governments; and an additional 15 percent support added to SNAP food stamp benefits. They also demanded that half of the small business loans "serve farmers, family, women, and minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban, and urban communities."Senators have largely scattered back to their home states amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Without a provision for remote voting, any actions Congress wants to take have to be done without opposition.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Joe Biden's shaky campaign Buying time for the post-COVID reckoning Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and the Roots perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' remotely, creatively
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| Coronavirus: New York has more cases than any country Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:14 AM PDT  Photos emerge of workers in hazmat outfits stacking coffins in a mass grave in New York City.
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| General says coronavirus may affect more Navy ships Posted: 09 Apr 2020 07:49 AM PDT  Pentagon leaders anticipate that the coronavirus may strike more Navy ships at sea after an outbreak aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific infected more than 400 sailors, a top general said Thursday. Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said one member of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was hospitalized Thursday in intensive care on Guam, where the carrier has been docked for more than a week. "It's not a good idea to think that the Teddy Roosevelt is a one-of-a-kind issue," Hyten told a Pentagon news conference.
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| Saudi, Russia outline record oil cut under U.S. pressure as demand crashes Posted: 09 Apr 2020 06:46 PM PDT  OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis. The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% of global supplies, with another 5 million bpd expected to come from other nations to help deal with the deepest oil crisis in decades. Global fuel demand has plunged by around 30 million bpd, or 30% of global supplies, as steps to fight the virus have grounded planes, cut vehicle usage and curbed economic activity.
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| Texas teen accused of threatening to spread coronavirus is charged Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Maradiaga claimed in a series of Snapchat videos to have tested positive and threatened to willfully spread COVID-19, according to police.
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| Body of Gideon McKean, great-grandson of RFK, found after 5 days Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:42 PM PDT  The body of his mother, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, was recovered two days earlier.
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| Denmark rushed to lock down before almost every other country. Now its response is so far ahead that it's starting to remove restrictions. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 01:57 AM PDT  Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said schools will reopen on April 15, but warned that the country can't return to normal too quickly.
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| Trump administration, citing coronavirus, expels 10,000 migrants in less than 3 weeks Posted: 09 Apr 2020 06:39 PM PDT  Homeland Security officials say CDC guidance on coronavirus and 'public health' outweigh U.S. laws that protect asylum seekers and migrant children.
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| Coronavirus: Worst economic crisis since 1930s depression, IMF says Posted: 09 Apr 2020 02:45 PM PDT  Global economic growth will turn "sharply negative" this year due to the pandemic, the IMF warns.
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| Rep. Banks Calls on Barr, Pompeo to Bring International Criminal Court Case against China over Coronavirus Coverup Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:24 PM PDT  Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.) is calling on the State Department and Department of Justice to bring a case against China to the United Nations International Court of Justice for damages stemming from the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, joining the growing number of lawmakers who want to see China held responsible."If China's leaders hadn't become embarrassed by the outbreak and tried to cover up its spread, the world may have had a better chance to prepare for this or even contain it in Wuhan or China," Banks said in a statement. "Instead, we have a pandemic. China shoulders most of that blame. Rather than succumb to the propaganda and spin of Chinese officials, the world must hold them accountable for mishandling this outbreak. If the United Nations cannot even do that, it has completely lost its purpose."If China refuses a trial in the International Court of Justice, Articles 49-51 of the United Nation's Charter hold that the U.S. and other states could suspend their international obligations to China in order to force Beijing to accept responsibility, including by reversing China's membership in the World Trade Organization, and by suspending air travel to China.Banks is currently circulating a letter addressed to Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to gather congressional support for his effort. He also co-sponsored a resolution last month that condemned the Chinese Communist Party's handling of the initial outbreak.The Indiana Republican is not the only member of Congress who has called for an international investigation of China. In March, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) proposed a bicameral resolution that called for an international investigation to determine to what extent China's coverup helped produce a global pandemic.Recent reports have documented how China failed to take the threat seriously and silenced early warnings that the outbreak could turn into a major problem.China has also used propaganda to push a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in the U.S., which experts have called "a counteroffensive" and "a kind of blame-shifting."
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| An 86-year-old woman with dementia was pushed and killed in an NYC emergency room over social distancing Posted: 09 Apr 2020 08:42 AM PDT  Janie Marshall grabbed onto a 32-year-old patient's IV pole to regain her balance, and the woman threw her to the floor, The New York Times reported.
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| The White House is reportedly developing a plan to get back to 'normality' Posted: 08 Apr 2020 02:26 PM PDT  Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told Democratic lawmakers during a phone call Wednesday that the Trump administration is developing a framework for getting the United States back into a state of "normality" in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Politico reports.Fauci didn't provide any possible timeline, but he did say the White House will likely issue some guidance in the coming days about transitioning society out of lockdown eventually.The cautious forward thinking is likely a result of some optimism among the White House coronavirus task force. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the unit, told lawmakers there have been early signs that new cases are stabilizing in some areas, echoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) comments earlier in the day.That doesn't mean Fauci, Pence, or lawmakers are relaxing, of course. "They're starting to see, they think, this virus in some of these known hot spots begin to maybe top out," Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) told Politico. "There are some hopeful signs in New York and other places. But we all know there's a long way to go." Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Dave Matthews performs John Prine's 'Speed of the Sound of Loneliness' on Colbert's Late Show Biden is the weakest major party nominee in recent history — but that might be the point 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Joe Biden's shaky campaign
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| Jerry Falwell Jr. says warrants are out for 2 journalists after critical stories on coronavirus decision Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:57 PM PDT |
| In South Africa, a government minister lost her salary for eating lunch in the wrong place Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:54 AM PDT  "Unmoved" by her excuses for the outing, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa put the minister on two months' leave, one of which will be unpaid.
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| Trump Slammed the WHO Over Coronavirus. He's Not Alone. Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:46 AM PDT  President Donald Trump unleashed a tirade against the World Health Organization on Tuesday, accusing it of acting too slowly to sound the alarm about the coronavirus. It was not the first time in this pandemic that the global health body has faced such criticism.Government officials, health experts and analysts have in recent weeks raised concerns about how the organization has responded to the outbreak.In Japan, Taro Aso, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, recently noted that some people have started referring to the World Health Organization as the "Chinese Health Organization" because of what he described as its close ties to Beijing. Taiwanese officials say the WHO ignored its early warnings about the virus because China refuses to allow Taiwan, a self-governing island it claims as its territory, to become a member.Critics say the WHO has been too trusting of the Chinese government, which initially tried to conceal the outbreak in Wuhan. Others have faulted the organization and its leader, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for moving too slowly in declaring a global health emergency.The WHO, a U.N. agency, has defended its response, saying Wednesday that it alerted the world to the threat posed by the virus in a timely manner and that it was "committed to ensuring all member states are able to respond effectively to this pandemic."The agency's defenders say that its powers over any individual government are limited, and that it has done the best it can in dealing with a public health threat with few precedents in history.There will be time later to assess successes and failings, "this virus and its shattering consequences," the United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, said Wednesday in a statement praising the WHO as "absolutely critical" to vanquishing COVID-19.Here's why the WHO is coming under attack.The WHO has not pushed China on early missteps.When cases of a mysterious viral pneumonia first appeared in Wuhan in December, Chinese health officials silenced whistleblowers and repeatedly played down the severity of the outbreak.Even as late as mid-January, as the virus spread beyond China's borders, Chinese officials described it as "preventable and controllable" and said there was no evidence it could be transmitted between humans on a broad scale.The WHO endorsed the government's claims, saying in mid-January, for example, that human-to-human transmission had not been proved.Critics say the organization's repeated deference to Beijing exacerbated the spread of the disease. A group of international experts was not allowed to visit Wuhan until mid-February."They could have been more forceful, especially in the initial stages in the crisis when there was a cover-up and there was inaction," said Yanzhong Huang, a global health expert specializing in China at Seton Hall University.Huang noted that during the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003, which killed more than 700 people worldwide, the WHO pushed the Chinese government to be more transparent by publicly criticizing it for trying to conceal the outbreak.At one point during the SARS epidemic, officials at hospitals in Beijing forced SARS patients into ambulances and drove them around to avoid their being seen by a visiting delegation of WHO experts, according to reports at the time.WHO officials were slow to declare a public health emergency, critics say.Even as the virus spread to more than half a dozen countries and forced China to place parts of Hubei province under lockdown in late January, the WHO was reluctant to declare it a global health emergency.WHO officials said at the time that a committee that discussed the epidemic was divided on the question of whether to call it an emergency but concluded that it was too early. One official added that they weighed the impact such a declaration might have on the people of China.After the United States announced a ban on most foreign citizens who had recently visited China, the WHO again seemed to show deference to Chinese officials, saying that travel restrictions were unnecessary. The group officially called the spread of the coronavirus a pandemic March 11.Some experts argue that the institution's delay in making such declarations deprived other countries of valuable time to prepare hospitals for an influx of patients."It reinforced the reluctance to take early strong measures before the catastrophe had actually landed on other shores," said François Godement, senior adviser for Asia at Institut Montaigne, a nonprofit group in Paris. "The WHO's tardiness or reluctance to call out the problem in full helped those who wanted to delay difficult decisions."The WHO defended its actions, saying Wednesday that it had "alerted member states to the significant risks and consequences of COVID-19 and provided them with a continuous flow of information" ever since Chinese officials first reported the outbreak Dec. 31.Guterres of the United Nations said, "It is possible that the same facts have had different readings by different entities." He added in his statement: "Once we have finally turned the page on this epidemic, there must be a time to look back fully to understand how such a disease emerged and spread its devastation so quickly across the globe and how all those involved reacted to the crisis."China's influence at the WHO is growing.China's leader, Xi Jinping, has made it a priority to strengthen Beijing's clout at international institutions, including the WHO, seeing the U.S.-dominated global order as an impediment to his country's rise as a superpower.China contributes only a small fraction of the WHO's $6 billion budget, while the United States is one of its main benefactors. But in recent years, Beijing has worked in other ways to expand its influence at the organization.The government has lobbied the WHO to promote traditional Chinese medicine, which Xi has worked to harness as a source of national pride and deployed as a soft-power tool in developing countries, despite skepticism from some scientists about its effectiveness.Last year, the WHO offered an endorsement of traditional Chinese medicine, including it in its influential medical compendium. The move was roundly criticized by animal welfare activists, who argued that it could contribute to a surge in illegal trafficking of wildlife whose parts are used in Chinese remedies.China has sought to promote traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of symptoms of the coronavirus both at home and abroad. Last month, the WHO was criticized after it removed a warning against taking traditional herbal remedies to treat the coronavirus from its websites in mainland China.China's role at the WHO will probably continue to grow in the coming years, especially if Western governments retreat from the organization, as Trump has threatened."This is part of China's efforts to more actively engage in international institutions," said Huang, the global health expert. "It will not please every country or every actor, but it's going to affect the agenda of the WHO."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| U.S. states share, get creative in hunt for medical supplies Posted: 09 Apr 2020 02:44 PM PDT  With the federal stockpile drained of protective gear, states are turning to each other, private industries and anyone who can donate in a desperate bid to get respirators, gloves and other supplies to doctors, nurses and other front-line workers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Wednesday that the federal cupboard is officially bare at least through this month after it was able to fulfill just a sliver of states' requests. Last month, President Donald Trump told governors to take care of their own needs.
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| Woman gives birth standing with trousers on while detained at US-Mexico border Posted: 09 Apr 2020 02:20 PM PDT  A woman suffering flu-like symptoms gave birth standing and fully clothed while detained near the Mexican-US border, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.The Guatemalan woman, 27, was being processed at the Chula Vista Border Patrol Station near San Diego when her complaints of pain and pleas for help were allegedly ignored by agents, according to a complaint filed on Wednesday by the ACLU and Jewish Family Service of San Diego with the US Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General.
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| China Reclassifies Dogs from Livestock to Pets in Response to Coronavirus Posted: 09 Apr 2020 02:59 PM PDT  China's agriculture ministry has reclassified dogs, which it previously deemed livestock, as pets in response to the coronavirus pandemic."As far as dogs are concerned, along with the progress of human civilization and the public concern and love for animal protection, dogs have been 'specialized' to become companion animals, and internationally are not considered to be livestock, and they will not be regulated as livestock in China," the Ministry of Agriculture said in guidelines published on Wednesday that are now open to public comment.The new coronavirus is thought to have originated in bats that then infected wild animals that were sold in the so-called wet markets of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.In February, as the virus was beginning to spread and before it reached global pandemic status the next month, China temporarily banned the farming and consumption of "terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value," and plans to sign the ban into permanent law later this year. But the wildlife trade is widespread in the country, and previous efforts to curtail the market have had little effect.The guidelines list 18 traditional livestock species, including cattle, pigs, poultry, and camels, as well as 13 "special" species that will also be allowed to be sold, including reindeer, alpaca, pheasants, ostriches, and foxes.Several U.S. lawmakers have criticized China's wildlife trade and called on the country to do more to prevent outbreaks like the coronavirus from occurring again in the future."While I welcomed the announcement last month that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has permanently banned the trade and consumption of non-aquatic wild animals, I share the concerns of many in the conservation community that this ban does not go far enough," said Representative Mike McCaul (R., Texas). "The policy does not ban the trade of wild animals for fur, medicine, or research, and I believe that these loopholes may be exploited to illegally sell or trade these animals."
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| Brazil lockdowns, attacked by Bolsonaro, begin to slip Posted: 09 Apr 2020 10:38 AM PDT  Lockdowns in Brazil's largest cities to slow the coronavirus outbreak are beginning to slip, according to new data this week seen and analyzed by Reuters, with more people leaving their homes as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to criticize the measures. State governments in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have expressed growing concern as their social isolation orders lose effectiveness, even as the outbreak spreads to nearly 16,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 800 deaths. Mayors and governors trying to keep Brazilians indoors have struggled against Bolsonaro's repeated attacks on the social distancing measures, which he described as "poison" that could kill more through economic hardship than the virus itself.
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| Head of Global Strike Command Wants to Make Air Force Bombers Even More Lethal Posted: 09 Apr 2020 01:07 PM PDT  The Air Force plans to have 165 to 175 bombers in its inventory once the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber comes online.
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| Ethiopia to Press Ahead With Africa’s Biggest Hydropower Dam Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:06 AM PDT |
| Turkey's COVID-19 infection rate is the fastest rising in the world. Here's why it got so many cases so quickly. Posted: 09 Apr 2020 10:36 PM PDT  Less than a month ago, Turkey didn't have a single case. As of April 10, it had 42,282 confirmed cases with 908 deaths.
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| Linda Tripp: Woman who revealed Clinton-Lewinsky scandal dies Posted: 09 Apr 2020 02:44 AM PDT  Linda Tripp, who disclosed Bill Clinton's White House affair with Monica Lewinsky dies, aged 70.
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| CDC releases data of worst U.S. coronavirus cases Posted: 09 Apr 2020 04:34 PM PDT  The CDC gathered data on those who were hospitalized from COVID-19 in 14 states from March 1-30, in efforts to get a clearer picture of those infected who needed the most serious medical care.
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| Trump approval dips as Americans question his handling of coronavirus crisis Posted: 09 Apr 2020 10:33 AM PDT  After rising to some of the highest levels of his presidency, Donald Trump's approval ratings have leveled off in recent surveys.
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| AP PHOTOS: Virus stills Iran's frenetic capital, Tehran Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:10 PM PDT  The typically frenetic streets of Iran's capital, Tehran, have fallen silent and empty over recent days due to the new coronavirus outbreak that's gripped the Islamic Republic. Iran's government for days downplayed the effects of the virus. The same goes for the cinemas, the bus stations and the malls, including a massive one in Tehran's outskirts now housing a newly built clinic for the virus.
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| Japan to Pay Companies to Move Production Out of China Posted: 09 Apr 2020 01:06 PM PDT  Japan will devote more than $2.2 billion of its coronavirus economic stimulus package to incentivize its manufacturers to move their production out of China as relations fray between the neighboring countries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.The record stimulus plan provides $2 billion for manufacturers to transfer production to Japan and over $216 million to help companies move production to other countries. Imports from China, Japan's biggest trading partner, were down by nearly 50 percent in February as facilities in China closed while the coronavirus ripped through the country.A state visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month — the first such visit in about a decade — was postponed indefinitely last month amid the coronavirus pandemic."We are doing our best to resume economic development," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Wednesday of Japan's decision during a press conference in Beijing."In this process, we hope other countries will act like China and take proper measures to ensure the world economy will be impacted as little as possible and to ensure that supply chains are impacted as little as possible."Politicians in Japan and the U.S., among other countries, have placed blame on China for failing to respond strongly during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak and concealing the scale of the threat from other nations. Despite recent developments, Japan has donated masks and personal protective equipment to China."Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Japanese government and people have expressed sympathy, understanding and support to us," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in early February.As of Thursday, Japan had more than 4,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus and at least 85 deaths from the respiratory illness.
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| Harvey Weinstein free of coronavirus symptoms, spokesman says Posted: 09 Apr 2020 05:06 PM PDT  "As of now, it's been 14 days since reports of concern from people inside the prison, and he has no symptoms and no issues," Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer said. Weinstein, 68, was sentenced on March 11 for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress. Michael Powers, head of the state corrections officers union, said on March 22 that Weinstein had tested positive for the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19.
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