| Trump Signals South Korea Talks Over U.S. Troops Still Stalled Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:29 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus: Somali diaspora sends home stories of woe Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:11 PM PDT  British-Somalis have been badly hit in both economic and human terms.
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| UN survey: Climate, conflict, health top future concerns Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:20 PM PDT |
| Syria: Israel fired missile on areas near historic Palmyra Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:33 PM PDT |
| 16 migrants test positive for coronavirus on Mexican border Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:21 PM PDT |
| Thomas Thabane: Scandal-hit Lesotho PM to get 'dignified' exit Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:53 PM PDT  Thomas Thabane has been accused of being involved in the murder of his estranged wife.
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| AP PHOTOS: Small businesses pivoting during pandemic Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:44 PM PDT  Without their usual flow of patrons to their three businesses in Chinatown and the Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan, Abby and Paul Sierros needed a plan. Across the East River in Brooklyn, at Clementine Bakery, similar changes are happening. Michelle Barton's bakery and café added fresh produce, fresh local bread, and protective gloves to their normal vegan fare.
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| Russia quarantines thousands of troops who trained for a massive military parade that was canceled over coronavirus Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:25 PM PDT |
| Iran's Guard says it has higher range anti-warship missiles Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:07 PM PDT |
| NGOs urge UN to blacklist US, Russia for children's deaths Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:59 AM PDT |
| Trump, Head of Government, Leans Into Anti-Government Message Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:59 AM PDT  First he was the self-described "wartime president." Then he trumpeted the "total" authority of the federal government. But in the past few days, President Donald Trump has nurtured protests against state-issued stay-at-home orders aimed at curtailing the spread of the coronavirus.Hurtling from one position to another is consistent with Trump's approach to the presidency over the past three years. Even when external pressures and stresses appear to change the dynamics that the country is facing, Trump remains unbowed, altering his approach for a day or two, only to return to nursing grievances.Not even the president's reelection campaign can harness him: His team is often reactive to his moods and whims, trying but not always succeeding in steering him in a particular direction. Now, with Trump's poll numbers falling after a rally-around-the-leader bump, he is road-testing a new turn on a familiar theme -- veering into messages aimed at appealing to Americans whose lives have been disrupted by the legally enforceable stay-at-home orders.Whether his latest theme will be effective for him is an open question: In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday, just 36% of voters said they generally trusted what Trump says about the coronavirus.But the president, who ran as an insurgent in 2016, is most comfortable raging against the machine of government, even when he is the one running the country. And while the coronavirus is in every state in the union, it is heavily affecting minority and low-income communities.So when Trump on Friday tweeted "LIBERATE," his all-capitalized exhortations against strict orders in specific states -- including Michigan -- were in keeping with how he ran in 2016: saying things that seem contradictory, like pledging to work with governors and then urging people to "liberate" their states, and leaving it to his audiences to hear what they want to hear in his words.For instance, Trump did not take the opportunity to more forcefully encourage the protesters when he spoke with reporters Friday."These are people expressing their views," Trump said. "They seem to be very responsible people to me." But he said he thought the protesters had been treated "rough."In a webcast with Students for Trump on Friday, a conservative activist and Trump ally, Charlie Kirk, echoed the message, encouraging a "peaceful rebellion against governors" in states like Michigan, according to ABC News.On Fox News, where many of the opinion hosts are aligned with Trump and which he watches closely, there have also been discussions of such protests. And Trump has heard from conservative allies who have said they think he is straying from his base of supporters in recent weeks.So far, the protests have been relatively small and scattershot, organized by conservative-leaning groups with some organic attendance. It remains to be seen if they will be durable.But Trump's show of affinity for such actions is in keeping with his fomenting of voter anger at the establishment in 2016, a key to his success then -- and his fallback position during uncertain moments ever since.In the case of the state-issued orders, Trump's advisers say his criticism of certain places is appropriate.Stephen Moore, a former adviser to Trump and an economist with FreedomWorks, an organization that promotes limited government, said he thought protesters ought to be wearing masks and protecting themselves. But, he added, "the people who are doing the protest, for the most part, these are the 'deplorables,' they're largely Trump supporters, but not only Trump supporters."On Sunday, Trump again praised the protesters."I have never seen so many American flags," he said.But Trump's advisers are divided about the wisdom of encouraging the protests. At some of them, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, has been compared to Adolf Hitler. At least one protester had a sign featuring a swastika.One adviser said privately that if someone were to be injured at the protests -- or if anyone contracted the coronavirus at large events where people were not wearing masks -- there would be potential political risk for the president.But two other people close to the president, who asked for anonymity in order to speak candidly, said they thought the protests could be politically helpful to Trump, while acknowledging there might be public health risks.One of those people said that in much of the country, where the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths are not as high as in places like New York, New Jersey, California and Washington state, anger is growing over the economic losses that have come with the stringent social-distancing restrictions.And some states are already preparing to restart their economies. Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, took early actions against the spread of the virus, is planning a staged reopening beginning May 1.Still, as Trump did throughout 2016, as when he said "torture works" and then walked back that statement a short time later, or when he advocated bombing the Middle East while denouncing lengthy foreign engagements, he has long taken various sides of the same issue.Mobilizing anger and mistrust toward the government was a crucial factor for Trump in the last presidential election. And for many months he has been looking for ways to contrast himself with former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and a Washington lifer.The problem? Trump is now president, and disowning responsibility for his administration's slow and problem-plagued response to the coronavirus could prove difficult. And protests can be an unpredictable factor, particularly at a moment of economic unrest.Vice President Mike Pence, asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the president's tweets urging people to "liberate" states, demurred."The American people know that no one in America wants to reopen this country more than President Donald Trump," Pence said, "and on Thursday the president directed us to lay out guidelines for when and how states could responsibly do that.""And in the president's tweets and public statements, I can assure you, he's going to continue to encourage governors to find ways to safely and responsibly let America go back to work," he said.With the political campaign halted, Trump's advisers have seen an advantage in the frozen-in-time state of the race. Biden has struggled to fundraise or even to get daily attention in the news cycle.But Trump himself has seemed at sea, according to people close to him, uncertain of how to proceed. His approval numbers in his campaign polling have settled back to a level consistent with before the coronavirus, according to multiple people familiar with the data.His campaign polling has shown that focusing on criticizing China, in contrast with Biden, moves voters toward Trump, according to a Republican who has seen it."Trump finally fired the first shot" with his more aggressive stance toward the Chinese government and its leader, Xi Jinping, said Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist. "Xi is put on notice that the death, economic carnage and agony is his and his alone," Bannon said. "Only question now: What is America's president prepared to do about it?"Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, has advocated messages that contrast Trump with Biden on a number of fronts, including China.But inside and outside the White House, other advisers to Trump see an advantage in focusing attention on the presidency.Kellyanne Conway, the White House counselor, has argued in West Wing discussions that there is a time to focus on China, but that for now, the president should embrace commander-in-chief moments amid the crisis.Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and a friend of Trump's, said on ABC's "This Week" that he did not think ads criticizing Biden on China were the right approach for now.Ultimately, Trump's advisers said, most of his team is aware that it can try to drive down Biden's poll numbers, but that no matter what tactics it deploys now, the president's future will most likely depend on whether the economy is improving in the fall and whether the virus's spread has been mitigated. Those things will remain unknown for months."This is going to be a referendum," Christie said, "on whether people think, when we get to October, whether or not he handled this crisis in a way that helped the American people, protected lives and moved us forward."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:31 AM PDT  Massachusetts has become a hot spot of coronavirus infections, drawing the concern of federal officials and promises of aid from hard-hit New York as the state's death toll prepares to double in less than a week. Deaths from COVID-19 are expected to surpass 2,000 this week in Massachusetts, where officials are scrambling to boost hospital capacity and trace new infections to curb the spread of the disease. Vice President Mike Pence said the White House is closely watching the Boston area, and the coordinator of the federal coronavirus task force, Dr. Deborah Birx, said officials are "very much focused" on Massachusetts.
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| Turkey says Syria violating truce in rebel-held north Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:19 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus closes in on Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's cramped, unprepared camps Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:05 AM PDT  Coronavirus is spreading quickly in densely populated Bangladesh, despite a nationwide shutdown put in place a month ago. This preventive measure has proven challenging to implement due to lack of awareness of the coronavirus and the absence of a social safety net. Extreme poverty also forces many Bangladeshis to keep working and looking for food despite the risks. Bangladesh had 2,948 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 20.The disease has not yet spread into the refugee camps that house the Rohingya Muslims who fled ethnic violence in Myanmar in 2017, according to a recent update from the humanitarian organizations that work in the camps. But an outbreak in the overcrowded camps is almost certain to come eventually – and when it does, experts say, the damage could be severe. Crisis response in the campsEven in normal times people in refugee camps often struggle to survive, living as they do with minimal resources, food and housing. I saw this grim reality with my own eyes when I visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh – my home country – in 2017 and 2018. Many of the Rohingya I met in the Kutupalong and Balukhali camps had seen family members murdered and tortured. Most had experienced or borne witness to rape and had their houses burned down. The Myanmar military's violent 2017 assault on this Muslim minority was later declared a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations.The nearly 1 million traumatized Rohingya who migrated to neighboring Bangladesh now live in cramped, makeshift housing in the country's southeast, near the border with Myanmar. In the camp areas, the basic hygiene that is essential for preventing the spread of the disease is simply impossible. On average, four to five Rohingyas live together in a one-room hut, which is often constructed of tarpaulin sheets and bamboo sticks. Their floors, where they sleep on plastic cloth or paper, are usually muddy. Water supply, sanitation and sewage facilities are terribly inadequate.The camps, which have an average density of 103,600 people per square mile – far denser than Manhattan – are a breeding ground for disease. Since 2017 cholera, chicken pox and diphtheria have broken out in the camp areas. Preventive measuresThe Bangladesh government, national aid groups and international agencies, including the United Nations, are trying to equip the refugee camps for the coming COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 6,000 hand-washing stations have been installed since March, and some 9,000 shared bathing facilities and toilets disinfected. Half a million bars of soap have gone out at the distribution centers where residents get their food and household supplies, according to humanitarian groups that work in the camps. Aid organizations are also starting to get face masks to residents. Some 10,000 cloth face coverings have been sewn so far. Despite these efforts, soaps, face masks and hand sanitizer remain out of reach for many Rohingya. To ensure that the refugees understand the threat of COVID-19 and know how to protect against it, the World Health Organization recently conducted a training on infection control for staff in all clinics and facilities serving in Rohingya camp areas. Personal hygiene conversations are already happening along with soap distribution.Soon more than 1,400 trained health work volunteers will be doing education and outreach with refugees in the camps regarding the need for hand-washing, social distancing and other preventive measures. Faith and healthBut reports from the camp suggest that some Rohingya are ignoring this advice, relying instead on the traditional medicines and spiritual guidance of folk healers. Back in Myanmar, the Rohingya were politically and geographically marginalized. Most would have had little to no experience with public health prior to arrival at the camp.Effectively engaging a marginalized community like the Rohingya in a coronavirus response will require camp authorities to deliver information in a locally relevant, culturally sensitive fashion. History suggests that means working more closely with refugees themselves, as well as with local religious leaders and folk healers. During the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, faith leaders played a critical part in reaching one of the most hard-to-reach Pygmy communities. Even if widely embraced, social distancing will prove difficult in the refugee camps. To get food, people must go to central distribution areas. Bathrooms are often shared. Poverty effectively prevents commerce from closing down entirely. For now, fear about the coming COVID-19 outbreak is spreading among the Rohingya. One night in late March, when people in the camps were sleepless with anxiety, Time magazine reports, prayers were chanted at midnight as imams and the faithful sought God's protection. Working urgentlyWith very limited resources, the humanitarian agencies and local government are working together closely to address urgent shortages in the camps.Bangaldesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, Mahbub Alam Talukder, says there are "sufficient" coronavirus testing kits for Rohingya camps. Efforts are underway to ready up to 1,900 hospital beds across Cox's Bazar, the Bangladeshi port city that is home to about 2 million locals and 1 million Rohingya refugees.As of April 6, however, Save the Children – one of the aid organizations serving the camps – reported that the city had not a single ventilator. In all of Bangladesh, there are just 1,169 intensive care beds with ventilators, according to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper – roughly one for every 93,000 people. "It is difficult for Bangladesh to meet the expected surge in demand for ventilators," said Dr. Shamim Jahan, Bangladesh deputy director for Save the Children, in a press release. Jahan is calling for international assistance to "avert a humanitarian disaster" in the refugee camps, "[N]o single country can confront COVID-19 alone."Pradipto Vaskar Rakshit, an education specialist working at the Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh, contributed to this article.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * The history of the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya * Without school, a 'lost generation' of Rohingya refugee children face uncertain futureSaleh Ahmed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Ambulance jams, unprotected doctors, and mixed messages from Putin: Inside Russia's chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:42 AM PDT  Even though Vladimir Putin's government took measures to stem the outbreak in late January, hospitals and medics are still largely unequipped.
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| Ambulance jams, unprotected doctors, and mixed messages from Putin: Inside Russia's chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:42 AM PDT |
| US lockdowns coincide with rise in poisonings from cleaners Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:19 AM PDT  One toddler became dizzy, fell and hit her head after drinking from a large bottle of hand sanitizer. A woman had a scary coughing and wheezing fit while soaking her produce in a sink containing bleach, vinegar and hot water. Reports of accidental poisonings from cleaners and disinfectants are up this year, and researchers believe it's related to the coronavirus epidemic.
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| Lawyer: Yemen rebels free ex-minister, day after his arrest Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT |
| Iran lets more businesses reopen as virus toll rises Posted: 20 Apr 2020 09:27 AM PDT  Iran on Monday reported 91 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, as the government allowed more economic activity to resume after a gradual reopening in the past 10 days. Sanctions-hit Iran had shut down all non-essential economic activity in mid-March, weeks after its coronavirus outbreak first came to light. Shops in passages and bazaars were the latest businesses permitted to resume trading as part of the reopening.
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| Israeli coalition deal keeps Netanyahu in power Posted: 20 Apr 2020 09:22 AM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival announced Monday that they have forged a deal to form a coalition government, ending months of political paralysis and averting what would have been a fourth consecutive election in just over a year. Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, signed the power-sharing agreement after weeks of negotiations for what they termed a "national emergency" government meant to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak. Although Netanyahu repeatedly came up short in three elections over the past year, the coalition agreement returns the long-serving leader to the premiership, defying critics who predicted his downfall and restoring his reputation as a political wizard.
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| Merkel issues stark warning as Germany begins opening up Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:57 AM PDT  Chancellor Angela Merkel urged discipline in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, warning that Germany is not "out of the woods" even as the country took small steps in easing curbs imposed to slow contagion. With small shops opening on Monday for the first time in a month, Merkel said the authorities can only allow such small cautious steps each time to avoid a devastating relapse. "We must not lose sight of the fact that we stand at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods," she told journalists after chairing a cabinet session on the coronavirus battle.
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| Brexit talks resume under coronavirus cloud Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:33 AM PDT  British and EU officials resumed Brexit trade talks Monday after a break because of the coronavirus, which is making an end-of-year deal look even more unlikely. A June deadline set by London to assess the chances of an agreement is now fast approaching. In a tweet, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier thanked both negotiating teams for their flexibility while stressing they "must advance across all areas" to make progress by June.
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| Virus crisis ravages Brazilian Amazon city's health system Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:29 AM PDT  After more than a week suffering a cough and fever — potential signs of COVID-19 — Maria do Espírito Santo went to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil's biggest city in the Amazon rain forest. The concern is that Manaus could provide a grim glimpse of what lies ahead for Brazil, particularly as President Jair Bolsonaro flouts health experts' recommendations for people to stay home to contain the virus' spread, and instead tells citizens to get back to work.
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| The Achievements of China's Peaceful Development Bring Wealth to the World Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT |
| Merkel Warns Germany Shouldn’t Move Too Quickly With Easing Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:58 AM PDT |
| Russia’s Underfunded Hospitals Emerge as Key Vector for Virus Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:52 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Underfunded and poorly equipped, Russia's regional hospitals and clinics are emerging as hot spots for transmission as the coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond the capital into the hinterlands.In Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, a single doctor who became infected by a neighbor in his apartment building led to 78 cases in City Hospital Number 1, which is now under quarantine, regional governor Evgeny Kuyvashev said on his Instagram account Monday.Russia's regions accounted for more new cases overnight than Moscow as the capital shows signs that it may be beginning to approach the peak of the epidemic. While overall infections rose by 4,268 to 47,121 as of Monday, the number in Moscow was up by 2,026 compared to 3,570 on Sunday."The absolute number may be small in these regions, but the current rate of growth should make regional leaders think twice," Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told President Vladimir Putin at a televised videoconference Monday. Medical facilities are the main vector for spreading the virus, said Golikova, who oversees the government's health care policy.With Russia imposing restrictions nationwide as the illness spreads across the world's largest country, Putin has held frequent televised conference calls with regional heads to highlight how seriously the Kremlin takes the threat. At one meeting last week, he criticized "irresponsibility and slovenly work" for the surge of cases in some regions and warned that failure to act quickly in preparing medical facilities for the epidemic will be treated "as criminal negligence with all the consequences that come with it."Russia's sprawling regions are for the most part much poorer than Moscow, where Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has quickly built up capacity to handle the spike in hospitalizations. Medical facilities often face shortages of protective gear and staff that leave them ill-equipped to prevent contagion.In the remote northwestern Komi region, a doctor infected dozens at his hospital and led to its quarantine. Putin replaced the governor in the region, which has the highest rate of infection per 100,000 people outside of Moscow."Medical staff across the country are being deployed without proper protection, there aren't even enough basic masks,"said Semyon Galperin, head of the non-profit Doctors' Defense League. "We'll see increasing numbers of doctors and nurses falling ill. Our clinics and hospitals today are breeding grounds for coronavirus."Moscow, which is entering its fourth week of shutdown, has seen the number of severely ill stabilize over the last 10 days, Sobyanin told Putin on Monday. With 26,350 cases, it has more than half of all of Russia's recorded infections though the proportion is falling as the virus takes hold in the country.Golikova estimates that Russia's regions are two to three weeks behind Moscow, a hint that the shutdown could stretch into May. Putin has already canceled public celebrations of Russia's World War Two victory on May 9, which is the country's most important patriotic holiday.The fundamental reason for recurring cases of mass infections at hospitals is "the dilapidated state of our medical facilities and the lack of protective wear," said Andrei Konoval, co-chairman of independent medical trade union Destviye, or Action, which has branches in 50 of Russia's 85 regions. Staff shortages mean hospital administrators keep employees working even if they come into contact with infected colleagues, he said.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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| Syria Kurds set up first coronavirus hospital Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:27 AM PDT  Syria's Kurds have set up a specialised hospital for coronavirus cases, the Kurdish Red Crescent said Monday, after the first COVID-19 death was reported in the northeastern region. The United Nations on Friday said a man aged in his fifties had on April 2 become the first fatality from COVID-19 in northeast Syria. Kurdish Red Crescent co-director Sherwan Bery said a new 120-bed facility was now ready to welcome any moderate cases of the virus around 10 kilometres (six miles) outside the city of Hasakeh.
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| Supreme Court: Criminal juries must be unanimous to convict Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:10 AM PDT  The Supreme Court ruled Monday that juries in state criminal trials must be unanimous to convict a defendant, settling a quirk of constitutional law that had allowed divided votes to result in convictions in Louisiana and Oregon. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that the practice is inconsistent with the Constitution's right to a jury trial and that it should be discarded as a vestige of Jim Crow laws in Louisiana and racial, ethnic and religious bigotry that led to its adoption in Oregon in the 1930s. "In fact, no one before us contests any of this; courts in both Louisiana and Oregon have frankly acknowledged that race was a motivating factor in the adoption of their States' respective nonunanimity rules," Gorsuch wrote.
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| Iran, Syria call for lifting sanctions during pandemic Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:05 AM PDT  Iran's foreign minister used a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad Monday to call on the U.S. to lift sanctions imposed on both countries, during his first visit to the war-ravaged country in a year. Iran has been a close ally of Assad in Syria's long and bloody nine-year-long civil war, lending his government in Damascus vital military and economic support. The remarks made by Mohammad Javad Zarif during the meeting with Assad were reported by Syria's state-run news agency SANA.
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| Africans in China: We face coronavirus discrimination Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:01 AM PDT  The Guangzhou authorities deny their actions have been racist, but admit that all African nationals have been tested.
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| UNECA and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data collaborate to fight COVID-19 with better data for a resilient Africa Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT |
| Iran has boosted range of naval missiles to 700 km - Fars news agency Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:50 AM PDT |
| 'Political game'? Governors push back on Trump virus charge Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:49 AM PDT  A chorus of governors from both parties pushed back hard Monday after President Donald Trump accused Democrats of playing "a very dangerous political game" by insisting there is a shortage of tests for coronavirus. The governors countered that the White House must do more to help states do the testing that's needed before they can ease up on stay-at-home orders. Supply shortages have stymied U.S. testing for weeks.
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| Lessons from Oklahoma City Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:47 AM PDT  Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, a crime that killed 168 people — including 19 children — and wounded several hundred more. Typically, such anniversaries get big play in the media and our culture, but the coronavirus pandemic is, rightfully so, sucking up most of our attention these days.The bombing deserves to be remembered in its own right. But a look back at the events of 1995 also offers perspective on the challenges we face today. The threat we face now is a virus, instead of an angry domestic terrorist — but like the pandemic, the deadly attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building revealed the character of our leaders and exposed some blind spots in our collective thinking.Here are three lessons from that event:The biggest threats can come from unexpected places. We know now that the Oklahoma City bombing was committed by Timothy McVeigh, a disaffected Army vet who held anti-government views. But in the first hours after the attack, the focus settled mainly on the likelihood of Islamic terrorism. "Police do not know for certain whether the bombing is foreign terrorism or domestic," The New York Times' A.M. Rosenthal wrote two days later. "Either way, the fact remains that whatever we are doing to destroy Mideast terrorism, the chief terrorist threat against Americans, has not been working."Rosenthal was partly right: Mideast terrorism was still a threat to America — the Oklahoma bombing came just two years after a first, failed attack on the World Trade Center, and six years before the devastating events of 9/11. Three days after the bombing, though, McVeigh was identified as the bomber.Today, our political leaders appear unready to seriously deal with a pandemic. Other "threats" — Iran, China, immigrants from south of the border — have long occupied the attention of the Trump administration. And even now, nearly two months into the coronavirus crisis, Republicans seem eager to fit the new challenge into a pre-existing framework by using the COVID-19 outbreak to jump-start a new Cold War with China. But if the main lesson America takes away from current events is "don't trust China," we might not be ready when the next epidemic hits.Right-wing radicalism can do tremendous damage. The emergence of McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, brought to light a strain of anti-government radicalism in American life — a "militia movement" defined by racism, devotion to guns, and a conception of freedom so extreme that members often refused to even use license plates on their cars. Indeed, McVeigh was arrested 90 minutes after the bombing not because he was a suspect, but because he was fleeing the scene in a car that lacked plates.It's not difficult to see similar ideas animating a few of the anti-lockdown protesters who have demonstrated across the country in the last week. Some carry firearms — an implicit threat against the state governments they are protesting — and others fly modified Confederate battle flags. Some even show their racism and anti-Semitism openly. Their numbers are relatively few — most Americans want quarantine restrictions to stay in place — and they haven't mounted a direct attack on their local governments the way McVeigh did. But there are reports that some right-wing extremists see current events as a moment for armed conflict. This is a dangerous time for America.Difficult times call for strong leadership. While President Bill Clinton's impeachment hadn't happened by the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, he'd had a rough presidency: His signature health-care plan had failed and Republicans had captured Congress the year before, turning then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich into a celebrity. Clinton seemed callow and flawed, a mediocrity of a chief executive who had risen on the strength of charisma and ambition.When the bombing occurred, though, Clinton acted presidentially. He went before the press, announced the steps the federal government would take in response to the disaster, and asked Americans to pray for the victims. "Meanwhile, we will be about our work," he said. He was calm, measured — and he said everything he needed to say in under three minutes. He didn't look for a scapegoat. He didn't linger at the podium, bantering and bashing journalists. He set an agenda and didn't undermine it by reversing himself, in action or tone, the next day.Clinton was deeply flawed. But when history presented a challenge, he didn't give into his shortcomings and nurse his grievances out in public. He tried to be who the American people needed him to be. He behaved like a leader. He certainly didn't try to stir up more trouble, as President Trump has by encouraging anti-quarantine protests.The bombing of Oklahoma City is more than history, of course. It was — and for the survivors, remains — a horrifying tragedy for all involved. We are living through another tragedy that will mark all of us who survive it. Let's make sure we learn, and apply, the right lessons this time.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com What do animals think? A parade that killed thousands? The new coronavirus may be mutating to a less deadly form
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| What you need to know today about the virus outbreak Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:28 AM PDT  Boeing said it will put about 27,000 people back to work this week building passenger jets at its Seattle-area plants, with virus-slowing precautions in place, including face masks and staggered shifts. Boeing is among a small number of manufacturers around the U.S. that geared up Monday to resume production amid pressure from President Donald Trump to reopen the economy and resistance from governors who warn there is not enough testing yet to keep the new coronavirus from rebounding. Maryland secured 500,000 tests from South Korea after the governor's Korean American wife negotiated the shipment.
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| Ethiopia and Eritrea: A wedding, birth and baptism at the border Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:25 AM PDT  The recent peace between once bitter enemies Ethiopia and Eritrea has transformed lives there.
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| 3 killed by suspected tornado, lightning as storms hit South Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:10 AM PDT |
| Congressional Black Caucus PAC backs Biden's White House bid Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:00 AM PDT  The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed Joe Biden's presidential bid on Monday, further cementing his support among the nation's influential black political leadership. The political action committee's unanimous endorsement came on the heels of several key nods of support among caucus leadership and members, including civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and caucus Chairwoman Rep. Karen Bass of California. "There's no question that Joe Biden is badly needed by this country," CBC PAC Chairman Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said in an interview with The Associated Press.
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| College seniors face job worries, family stress amid virus Posted: 20 Apr 2020 05:57 AM PDT  Sent home from college because of the coronavirus outbreak, Carter Oselett is back in his childhood bedroom, paying rent on an empty apartment near campus and occasionally fighting with his parents over the television remote. "So much fun," Oselett said dryly from his family home in Macomb, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from his East Lansing campus.
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| China turns on the charm and angers Trump as it eyes a global opportunity in coronavirus crisis Posted: 20 Apr 2020 05:17 AM PDT  A new "red scare" is developing in the U.S. While Beijing is busy with a global propaganda crusade following the spread of the coronavirus from China to around the world, foreign policy hawks in Washington are seething. Donald Trump lashes out at Beijing's response to the crisis at daily press conferences amid growing reports of anti-Chinese sentiment among Americans. As a scholar of international affairs and former policy advisor to the German Embassy in Beijing, it is clear to me that China is turning the crisis into an opportunity. It is touting its role in the world and praising its governmental system and enormous countrywide surveillance network for successfully battling the coronavirus. Yet, this is the nature of international relationships. The U.S. or any other great power would be tempted to do the same. China is exploiting the situation while the U.S. and the Western world are occupied with their own problems and have little time for anything else. Trading insultsDuring most of Trump's years in office, relations between China and the U.S. have been tense. Much of this has centered on the huge American trade deficit with China which Trump strongly criticized even before he became president.In the 2016 election campaign, Trump accused Beijing of "raping" the U.S. and talked about "the greatest theft [of American jobs] in the history of the world." While referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a good friend, Trump has accused China of intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices and lack of market access for U.S. companies. In late 2018, the U.S. president unleashed a painful trade war with sharply escalating tariffs, but it did little to resolve Trump's grievances. Neither the U.S. nor China could win this harmful conflict and a provisional trade deal was signed on Jan. 15, 2020. The truce lasted exactly two weeks. On Jan. 31, Trump announced a travel ban on visitors from China. Conspiracy theoriesIn his many remarks on the crisis since, Trump has not hesitated to resort to language criticized as xenophobic and anti-Chinese, such as referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" or "Chinese virus." Meanwhile, the administration has done little to discourage a conspiracy theory that has the virus originating from a Chinese research laboratory near Wuhan and not from a live animal market in the city – which most scientists believe. On April 15, Trump said the U.S. was investigating the lab claim and ratcheted up the rhetoric further a few days later by suggesting that China would face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the pandemic. Meanwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said China needs to "come clean" over the emergence of the virus and how it spread. Certainly there are many questions that need to be answered over the true extent of the disease in China – on April 17 Beijing revised the number of fatalities in Wuhan up by 50% – but the rhetoric from the White House may be contributing to anti-Chinese sentiment directed not at the government in Beijing, but at people in China and of Chinese descent. On the ground in U.S. cities and towns, Asian Americans are reporting being subjected to verbal and even physical abuse. Tit-for-tat measuresThe Chinese government isn't blameless when it comes to conspiracy theories. With the likely nod of Beijing's all-powerful seven-member Standing Committee of the Politbureau, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian speculated wildly on Twitter that it might well have been the U.S. army which brought the virus to Wuhan.There have also been plenty of reports that foreigners, in particular Africans who live in China, have faced severe discrimination and abuse since the coronavirus crisis broke. They are unfairly accused of having imported the virus to China.Meanwhile, both Washington and Beijing have put in place tit-for-tat restrictions on each others' media outlets, severely limiting the number of journalists who are allowed to work in their respective countries.It accompanied growing reports in the western media about China's slow initial response to the virus and the silencing of the late Dr. Li Wenliang and other doctors who had attempted to alert Chinese authorities about the looming pandemic as early as December 2019. Saving faceDespite a sluggish start which contributed to the initial spread of the virus, China has since trumpeted the success of its policy of locking down entire cities and provinces. The country has now been able to open up for business again.Beijing is also praising itself as a benign global hero by donating and selling huge amounts of much-needed face masks, ventilators and other protective gear to countries round the world, including the U.S. In so doing, China is subtly using the opportunity to expand its global influence, not least its soft power appeal. Beijing has embarked on a global "charm offensive."While this may be regrettable from a Western perspective, would any other big country behave differently? If the roles were reversed, I believe the U.S. would also be tempted to exploit its position for political advantage. It seems this is the instinctive reaction of any great power. But there is no reason for panic about this. Without doubt, relations between China and many of the countries it is helping have become closer. But they still need to be cemented in the long run – this may or may not happen. Ruling the world?China, like many great powers, has a track record of not following through with its promises of financial help. Just ask the countries who have signed up to Beijing's huge and creative Belt and Road initiative that seeks to pump Chinese money into infrastructure projects around the world, or the 17+1 China-Central Eastern Europe initiative linking China with governments in central and eastern Europe, including many EU countries. There is much disappointment about broken or semi-fulfilled financial promises and agreements.And some of the face masks and other gear donated to European countries have proven faulty or of inferior quality.For the time being, the world should be pleased that China is able and willing to help out with much needed equipment as well as doctors and nurses to help fight the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. It does not mean that once the crisis is over, China will be able to run the world. In fact, the U.S. should build on Beijing and Washington's haphazard and sporadic cooperation during the current crisis to improve relations with China in a more lasting way. [You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can get our highlights each weekend.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * The coronavirus will delay agricultural export surges promised in trade deal with China * Why defeating coronavirus in one country isn't enough – there needs to be a coordinated global strategyKlaus W. Larres does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Rampage leaves 18 dead in Canada's worst mass shooting Posted: 20 Apr 2020 05:10 AM PDT  Police fanned out across more than a dozen crime scenes Monday after a rampage by a gunman disguised as a police officer left at least 18 dead and homes in smoldering ruins in rural communities across Nova Scotia — the deadliest mass shooting in Canada's history. Officials said the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, also died in the weekend attack. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather told a news conference Monday that police expect to find more victims once they are able to comb through all the crime scenes, some of which were houses set ablaze as victims were inside, adhering to government calls to stay at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| In Pandemic, a Remote Russian Region Orders a Lockdown -- on Information Posted: 20 Apr 2020 05:04 AM PDT  MOSCOW -- Nearly as big as California but served by only a handful of mostly decrepit Soviet-era hospitals, the remote northern Russian region of Komi is a coronavirus petri dish for the horrors lying in wait for the world's largest country.Amid growing evidence that the pathogen had already breached Komi's feeble defenses, local authorities moved vigorously last week to contain the crisis: Police summoned critics of the regional government to ask how they knew about an outbreak in a hospital at a time when officials in Komi were insisting nobody had been infected.Among those called in for questioning was Pavel Andreev, director of 7x7 Komi, an independent online journal that revealed last month how a surgeon in a Komi state hospital sick with COVID-19 had infected patients.Andreev said the police officer who led the interrogation mainly wanted to know about a comment the media director had posted online that said, "It is impossible to trust the state, even in hospitals." Andreev, who has not been charged or even asked to take down his post, said the encounter was not so much menacing as baffling: The cat is already out of the bag, so "why waste time and energy on this?" he asked.The police intervention was carried out at the behest of Komi's health minister, who was fired last week for his mishandling of the pandemic. It highlights one of Russia's biggest obstacles as it struggles to control the spread of the virus in its vast and often ramshackle hinterland: a lumbering bureaucratic machine geared first and foremost toward protecting officials even after they lose their jobs, not safeguarding the public or its health.Unlike China -- which routinely arrests government critics or simply makes them disappear while scrubbing the internet of comments about the coronavirus that authorities do not like -- Russia is not a ruthlessly efficient police state but more a haphazard confederation of bureaucrats.Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, well aware of his country's dysfunctions, has spent much of the past week haranguing officials in far-flung regions, ordering them to get a grip.But faced with a pandemic that does not respond to the Kremlin's go-to tools of propaganda and repression, Putin has mostly delegated handling of the coronavirus to these same regional leaders. In doing so, the Kremlin has only empowered instincts, deeply entrenched in many local governments, to try to cover up bad news.Putin, in an address to the nation to mark Orthodox Easter on Sunday, assured Russians, "The situation is under total control."Shortly after he spoke from his country retreat, however, health authorities reported more than 6,000 new infections across Russia, by far the biggest one-day rise yet, bringing the total to nearly 43,000. More worrying, more than two-thirds of these new cases were outside Moscow, which had previously accounted for the bulk of new infections.Russia's official death toll, clouded by faulty reporting but still doubling over the past week, stood Sunday at just 361, compared with more than 36,000 in the United States.After three days of claiming there had been no new coronavirus cases, Komi, with a population of under 1 million, on Tuesday reported 97 new infections. That made it Russia's third most infected area after Moscow and St. Petersburg -- large cities with far more people and much better hospitals. Komi has since been overtaken by the Nizhny Novgorod region but has the highest per capita rate of infection after Moscow.Komi's admission of a new surge of infections followed an angry warning Monday to regional leaders from Putin, who fired Komi's governor last month after an earlier spike there in coronavirus cases.In what was widely interpreted as an oblique reference to Komi, Putin thundered against "criminal negligence" in the regions."I know what this is about, and this, in my view, is just the result of sloppiness," Putin said.In Komi, it is also the result of chronic official chicanery, a phenomenon that Putin has encouraged since he came to power 20 years ago by steadily muzzling independent voices and by turning state-controlled television and many other news outlets into echo chambers for loyal bureaucrats.Thanks to the work of independent news outlets like 7x7 and social media posts, it has been common knowledge in Komi for weeks that a hospital in Ezhva, an industrial area just outside the regional capital, became a hot zone in March after a surgeon there, Dr. Andrei Kern, kept working despite having symptoms of the virus.The doctor, a close relative of a senior law enforcement official, and his wife are thought to have contracted the virus from their daughter, who returned to Komi in early March after a trip in Europe. With scant access to tests, hospital staff members in Ezhva were asked to monitor their breathing for signs of illness and given X-rays, an inefficient but inexpensive way to detect COVID-19 in the lungs.Karina Tatarenko, an economist in Syktyvkar, the regional capital, said her 83-year-old grandmother, a diabetic, had been admitted to the Ezhva hospital in December for a leg amputation.Operated on successfully by the infected surgeon, the woman, Lidiya Tirtichi, survived the surgery and, recovering well, was eager to go home, Tatarenko said. But her ward was then suddenly sealed off without explanation, and she had to stay put.Tatarenko, barred from entering the hospital, tried in vain for more than a week to reach her grandmother and the surgeon by telephone to ask what was going on. In early April, she received a phone call from the hospital: Her grandmother was dead.The death certificate gave the cause of death as "atherosclerosis in the limbs," a hardening of the arteries often associated with diabetes, and "systemic inflammation of a noninfectious origin." When the granddaughter went to the morgue to collect the body, however, she was told that the real cause of death was pulmonary failure because of the coronavirus.It is impossible to know how many death certificates have been falsified across the country to hide the number of COVID-19 deaths. But there have been a number of confirmed cases of coronavirus fatalities being wrongly and apparently deliberately misclassified.Choking back tears as she spoke by telephone from Komi, Tatarenko said she planned to file a complaint for criminal negligence against the surgeon who had operated on and apparently infected her grandmother. The state-run hospital, she said, "refused to tell me anything for days and then lied about why she died."Russian doctors, under immense pressure to keep working, have become a common vector for the spread of the coronavirus. Outbreaks in the southern city of Stavropol; the town of Ivanova, west of Moscow; and the Urals region city of Ufa have all been linked to infected doctors. A clinic in the Moscow district of Mitino shut down last week after the head doctor infected several patients.The head of Rospotrebnadzor, a health and consumer protection agency at the forefront of Russia's fight against the pandemic, said Monday that medical institutions accounted for more than half of 74 infection "hot spots" so far identified across the country.Regional health officials in Komi belatedly acknowledged the outbreak in Ezhva. But instead of isolating the hospital, they began moving patients who showed no symptoms of COVID-19 to a bigger and better equipped hospital in the capital, Syktyvkar, and then on to other facilities, where they spread the disease.Within days, Komi suddenly had hundreds of coronavirus infections, nearly as many as St. Petersburg.Unable to hide the numbers, Komi officials finally owned up to having a serious problem and were promptly punished by the Kremlin. Putin replaced the regional governor. Komi's health minister then quickly lost his job, too. The reshuffle vindicated local journalists and activists who had been struggling to sound the alarm.The new governor, an epidemiologist by training, has been more transparent, but the bureaucracy he inherited still leans toward obfuscation.A television channel controlled by regional authorities interviewed two Syktyvkar doctors who, despite looking exhausted and frightened, insisted they had everything they needed to keep the virus under control and "keep doing the work we love."With his region called out publicly by Russia's health minister Friday as one of several that had stumbled badly, Komi's newly appointed governor, Vladimir Uyba, assured Putin during a teleconference that the rate of infection in his territory had slowed even as testing had increased.But he acknowledged that even with three local laboratories now handling tests, meaning that samples no longer had to be sent to Novosibirsk in Siberia for analysis, less than 1% of residents had so far been tested. The governor pleaded with the president for help in establishing a modern infectious diseases center.Mathematical models prepared by two Russian institutes predict that the outbreak will reach its peak in Komi early in May, leaving as many as 50,000 people infected, a 100-fold increase over the current number of confirmed cases.Ernest Mezak, a Komi legal activist who has investigated the fiasco in Ezhva, said in a telephone interview that he did not think local officials were under any orders from Moscow to lie but simply feared telling the truth in a system that gives little incentive for honesty."Putin is not sitting in a bunker telling everyone to hide the truth," Mezak said. "Local officials lie because this is what they have always done. It is a habit."Contacted by telephone, a doctor at Syktyvkar's biggest hospital, who insisted he not be named because he feared losing his job, described the situation in Komi as "a horror show" because without widespread, reliable testing, nobody really knows how many people have been infected and where they are.Some patients who had contact with the infected doctor in Ezhva, he said, were simply released from the hospital and allowed to return to their homes around Komi. Others who still needed treatment for various ailments unrelated to the coronavirus were mostly moved to Syktyvkar without being tested for the virus.Andreev, the director of 7x7, said that even the police officer who questioned him seemed to accept that there was nothing to investigate."Once the machine starts moving, it is very hard to stop," Andreev said. "Our bureaucracy has its own strange internal logic."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| BDI on Restarting Brexit Negotiations: "Resumption of the Talks is a Long-expected Signal" Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:37 AM PDT |
| Merkel Warns of Virus-Relapse Risk as Germany Eases Curbs Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:02 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that public debate about easing restrictions to contain the coronavirus risked sparking a new wave of infections even as Germany took its first tentative steps toward normalcy.In a closed-door meeting of her Christian Democratic party on Monday in Berlin, she said "discussion orgies" about loosening lockdowns threatened to destroy the progress in fighting the pandemic, according to a participant, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.While Merkel made clear that her government currently doesn't plan any further restrictions, that option remains on the table, saying the next steps will be decided when she meets with leaders of Germany's 16 states on April 30. The German chancellor also pointed out that the more relevant date would be May 8, when the impact of the current easing steps become evident.At the meeting, Merkel expressed her hope that people would continue to follow rules designed to limit contact between people, but that she was skeptical about the latest developments. Over the weekend, the Berlin police broke up a protest and numerous parties, and parks were full.The unusually blunt comments indicate Merkel's unease as the country embarks on what will be a critical test of Europe's ability to recover from the crisis.Smaller stores across the region's largest economy were allowed to reopen on Monday after a month-long shutdown deprived German retailers of 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in sales and pushed many shops to the brink of bankruptcy.The country is among the first in Europe to cautiously revive business activity as the pandemic continues to shutter factories, restaurants and shops from Madrid to Prague.Retailers like Philipp Frese eagerly awaited the opportunity to see shoppers again. The lockdown, which closed all but essential retailers, has crushed his hopes for a profit this year at his bed and mattress store in southern Germany, putting his focus on survival.The restrictions have been "a threat to our existence as a business," said Frese, whose sales slumped by 90% in March while costs only went down by a third. "You need to meet customers face to face to sell them pillows and mattresses."Initial signs weren't encouraging. Traffic on the Zeil shopping street in downtown Frankfurt -- typically the busiest retail street in Germany -- was subdued on Monday morning.Instead of throngs of customers, evidence of the lockdown abounded. Dispensers of hand sanitizer marked the entrance to the MyZeil shopping center -- home to stores from Adidas, Body Shop and North Face. Signs on shop doors warned customers to keep at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) from one another. Empty escalators whirred busily, echoing through the mall's corridors."We've been working hard to get things ready since getting the green light on Friday," Annett Gurczinski, manager of MyZeil said before improvising a greeting with a security guard by touching the tips of their shoes. "We're not fearful. We're looking forward to getting restarted."While most stores will open their doors at the Frankfurt shopping center, Gurczinski expects customers to hang back until it gets closer to the weekend and the new situation gradually sinks in.The number of coronavirus cases in Germany rose by the least this month, with 2,018 new infections in the 24 hours through Monday morning, taking the total to 145,742, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of fatalities rose by 104, the lowest since April 1, to 4,642.While the concern in Berlin is that those promising signs could disappear if people feel contagion risk has abated, the partial reopening in Austria last week hasn't led to a relapse so far.New infections in Germany's southern neighbor continued to fall to less than 100 per day since small shops, hardware and gardening stores reopened on April 14 after the Easter holiday. If the trend holds, the country is on track to open electronics, furniture or fashion stores as well as malls in early May.Germany's initial steps to ease restrictions vary by state. While Frankfurt's home of Hesse is pushing ahead, Berlin is waiting until at least Wednesday and Bavaria is delaying its cautious reopening until next Monday. The uneven efforts are driven in part by political jockeying to replace Merkel after she steps down following national elections slated for next year.While large retailers and industrial groups are critical of the slow pace, Merkel has won plaudits for her crisis response even as the economy plunges into a deeper recession than during the financial crisis a decade ago. After imposing social-distancing measures on March 22, her government fast-tracked more than 1 trillion euros in aid to companies and workers to avoid bankruptcies and mass layoffs.Germany's widespread testing and relative progress in protecting vulnerable people have led to a lower fatality rate than European partners such as Italy, Spain and the U.K.In Frankfurt, a few shoppers had begun to emerge by mid-day, most adorned in a mix of surgical masks or colorful homemade coverings. The numbers were substantially lower than normal, allowing cyclists to weave through spaces typically clogged with people.While most shops had little traffic, a couple dozen people waited outside a craft shop, and most had Covid-19 on their minds."Masks cost 10 euros in shops," said Kerstin Brandt, who cycled to the downtown store to buy elastic and other parts. "If you buy the materials yourself, you can make them for 2 euros a piece."(Adds details and color from Germany's reopening throughout)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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| Idris & Sabrina Elba Launch Appeal For IFAD’s $200M Coronavirus Relief Fund Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:02 AM PDT |
| 10 things you need to know today: April 20, 2020 Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:50 AM PDT |
| Fearing Big Election Loss, China Goes on Offensive in Hong Kong Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:10 AM PDT |
| China Spots An Opportunity On Hong Kong Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus pandemic has halted protests in Hong Kong over the extent to which China looms over the Asian financial hub's affairs. Even so, it may have just driven that discontent briefly underground.Hong Kong sits uneasily within Chinese rule. It was rocked by enormous, violent protests last year. Now it seems China has decided the moment is right to try and stamp dissent out for good.Over the weekend the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government arrested 15 people, including prominent pro-democracy activists and a lawmaker. It came after Xia Baolong — a close aide to President Xi Jinping — was installed to oversee Hong Kong affairs.China had expressed exasperation of late over opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong's parliament, accusing them of potentially violating their oaths by filibustering and stalling government policy. Legislative elections are scheduled for September.So this latest move is not a massive surprise. China is banking on the virus keeping protesters at bay. Still, it's a risky gambit given the discontent not just with Beijing but with perceived failures by the local government, including on issues like housing and the cost of living. The protests last year drew crowds estimated in the millions.There's also the question of America. President Donald Trump is increasingly pivoting toward China blame for the coronavirus spread. There's an incentive there for him as he assesses his own re-election prospects in November.Already the U.S. has criticized the weekend arrests in Hong Kong. It wouldn't take much for Trump to decide to weigh in there also.Global HeadlinesCulture wars | Trump is dealing with his biggest crisis as U.S. president by stoking the nation's partisan divide over the pandemic. With his poll numbers down, he's egging on protesters against stay-at-home restrictions in states governed by Democrats. The battle over when to ease the lockdown has intensified as cases increase across the U.S., even as slowdowns in deaths and hospitalizations in the epicenter prompted Governor Andrew Cuomo to say New York appeared to be "on the other side" of the outbreak.Cautious optimism | Germany is among the first nations in Europe to ease virus restrictions, allowing smaller stores to reopen this week. With reported cases today rising by the least this month, Europe's biggest economy will be watched closely by countries from Italy to the U.S. Amid declining infections, South Korea will relax some restraints and may resume normal life from May 6, while New Zealand, which was quick to impose a widespread lockdown, will partially ease containment measures in a week.Angry defense | Boris Johnson's government issued two separate, lengthy rebuttals to criticism of its handling of the pandemic after newspaper reports suggested the U.K. prime minister failed to take the virus seriously early on and criticized its procurement of ventilators. Britain has faced a shortage of tests, protective equipment for health workers, and a soaring death toll. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair told Bloomberg TV today the U.K. was "somewhat behind the curve" in suppressing the virus.Divided approaches | President Jair Bolsonaro is still pushing to reopen Brazil's economy, speaking yesterday at a protest against measures imposed by state governors to slow the coronavirus spread. The far-right president has repeatedly defied medical guidance on social distancing by mingling with supporters, and last week fired his health minister amid differences over how to handle the pandemic.Gang truce | South Africa's notorious gangs have responded to the virus outbreak by agreeing to a cease-fire that's slashed the drug trade and seen an unprecedented drop in murders in a country with one of the world's highest homicide rates. As Loni Prinsloo and Pauline Bax report, a network of gang leaders known as the Council is providing funds to their members until June so they can feed their families during the shutdown.What to Watch This WeekItalian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called again for joint euro-area bonds to aid economies hit by the virus, previewing a testy summit Thursday of European Union leaders. Republicans and Democrats are optimistic about reaching a deal to bulk up a loan program for small firms, with news also that burger chain Shake Shack will return a $10 million loan. The U.K. and the EU start talks today over their future relationship after a six-week interruption by the coronavirus. Oil has fallen to the lowest in more than two decades on concern the world is running out of places to store crude after output cuts proved insufficient to cope with plunging demand. Argentina's debt renegotiation process enters the bargaining phase between the government and bondholders after the country presented its offer on Friday.Thanks to all who responded to our pop quiz Friday and congratulations to Christopher Genco, who was the first to name South Korean President Moon Jae-in as the leader who secured a strong win in parliamentary elections. Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.And finally ... As the Amazon becomes a virus hotspot in Brazil, indigenous leaders are, with the help of federal police, blocking the entrances to their territory. Local residents in the area are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus as requirements for maintaining sanitary conditions — including running water — are often lacking. For some, the closest medical help is an overburdened and ill-equipped hospital days away by boat. 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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| Iran death toll from new coronavirus outbreak rises by 91 to 5,209- health ministry official Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:35 AM PDT |
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